The decision
by ReadingYourThoughts
Summary: Two friends, a forest, an accident and a decision to make. One must go for help, even if that means abandoning his friend to die alone. What would you do? Find out what Morgan and Reid did.
1. Chapter 1

**So, here's my first story. Be kind. I hope it's worth it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own CM, of course. This is just for fun.**

**Summary: Two friends, a forest, an accident and a decision to make. One must go for help, even if that means abandoning his friend to die alone. What would you do? Find out what Morgan and Reid did.**

"Isn't it cool, man?" asked Morgan, while absorbing everything nature had to offer. Nature seemed to spill all its wonders on them. The trees graciously danced above, the sun glowed through the branches, bathing them with its light. Birds were singing, producing the soundtrack for this late spring morning. It was a most enjoyable moment. The forest embraced them with its relaxing tones.

"I can't believe I let you convince me to come here. I couldn't even bring a book with me!" argued Reid, who was definitely not enjoying himself. This was not a place for him.

"Come on, Reid. Just stop worrying and enjoy yourself. Besides, Strauss ordered us to take a free day and what better way to spend it than fishing and leaving behind the asphalt?" said Morgan with a grin on his face. He knew Reid would rather spend his free day in his apartment or in a library. But the kid could use some nature and sun. After a whole winter away from the sun, he looked even paler than ever.

"Well, I had a lot of things planned for a free day, but I never thought I'd be spending it outdoors, fishing with you. Do you know the problems you may encounter out in the open? Did you know that a couple of years ago, five tourists were killed around this area, in this same forest? Some said it was a bear, others said they saw a light up in the sky at the same time the five tourists were said to die" said Reid trying to keep up with Morgan's step, who seemed to be bored with Spencer's rambling.

"I'll tell you what. If E.T. comes for you, I'll ask him to be nice and treat you well, how about that?" joked Morgan. "Just stop whining and walk faster. I want to catch a fish for lunch".

Reid mumbled something to himself that Morgan didn't hear. Reid looked kind of scared, but what the hell, the kid needed to experience a bit of nature. But then, he felt sorry for him and said: "Hey, Reid".

"What?" answered the kid, looking up from the trail to Morgan.

"I won't let anything happen to you. We're the only ones here and if you miss the office, you can always call Garcia. She's right there whishing she was here" said Morgan, trying to reassure his friend.

"Well, I'd definitely change places with her. Anyways..." Reid hesitated and in a lower voice he added: "There's no phone service here. I've already tried calling". He looked embarrassed by his own childish behavior.

Morgan looked amused and finally said: "Now, try to remain silent for a bit. Just relax and enjoy the birds singing".

"Actually, did you know that in Greece, some consider the sing of a bird to be a bad—" Reid stopped at what he was saying when Morgan gave him a I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-you-continue-with-this look.

"OK. Fine. I'll shut up." And with this, Reid gave up. He was in the middle of a forest with no other choice than spending his day with a lake, trees, mosquitoes and Morgan. So what could go wrong with that? "Nothing" thought Reid to himself, still not totally convinced. He'd have to face the fact that he'd be spending his day outdoors. It was only one day, after all.

**A/N: So? Is it worth it? I have the story in my head and I guess I know where it's going. So, let me know what you think . And thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I'm back. I've been reading really good material around here and I feel that my story is not even a 50% as good as other stories. But, well, bear with me and remember this is my first story. With practice, I'll be better. **

**DISCLAIMER: The usual. I just own my words and nothing else. Although, my birthday is this Saturday, if you want to give me Spencer for a present, I won't turn him down. :)**

Chapter II

"OK, Reid. Go get some wood so I can start the fire. We'll cook some of these goodies" said Morgan showing Reid the result of his fishing in the lake. Reid looked disgusted away from the fish. He grew a dislike for fishes since his kidnapping in Georgia and he didn't want to see or eat a fish again in his entire life. Morgan had been in charge of the food, so he was now wondering if he'd have to wait till go back home to eat. Oh, well, it wasn't a big deal; he could pass one whole day without taking any food.

Morgan saw Reid's reaction to the fish and immediately regretted being so inconsiderate so as to show him the fish. "_What were you thinking, you idiot? You know he can't stand seeing a fish. Man, sometimes I'm so stupid that I'd kick my own ass if I could"_, thought Morgan.

And so to amend his wrong, Morgan continued: "Don't worry, pretty boy. I brought some canned food for you. Sweet corn and beans."

Reid felt relieved and grateful. "Thank you." Then, feeling better, he turned around and went to collect woods and leaves for the fire.

"And Reid, be careful. Remember there's a cliff falling into a rocky lake not far away" said Morgan before the young man was out of his sight.

"OK, dad" said Reid smiling.

"Say that again and I'll push you myself into that cliff" answered Morgan. He knew it was a joke and he felt good joking around with his friend. But he really didn't like to be considered as old as to have a 27 year old son.

As soon as Reid went on his way, Morgan started cutting the fish fast; he didn't want his friend to see him doing that. He knew it would remind him of the worst time of his life, and one of the worst moments in Morgan's life, for that matter. Trying not to remember those ugly days, he started whistling some tunes.

After some minutes, Reid came back with his arms full of words and dry leaves. The young FBI agent looked like he was about to fall with his heavy load on top of him. He barely got to where the fire would be built and unloaded his arms. Morgan started the fire and they sit down around it, enjoying the quietness of the place. Reid opened the canned food and was about to eat some when he heard something moving behind the bushes.

"Hmm, Morgan?" Reid whispered. "Did you hear that?" signaling with his head over the bushes.

"What?" asked Morgan distractedly, still looking at his fish. He was hungry and just wanted to eat before taking a nap on the grass.

"There... there was something behind those bushes. I swear. I'm not lying" said Reid with a scared voice. Morgan looked at him. The genius looked like a five year old afraid of the dark in a semi-dark room. Oh, wait, right, Reid was afraid of the dark, so, yes, he was just like a five year old boy. Just to humor Reid, Morgan got up and went to check the bushes. Reid followed him, but didn't dare to go through the other side of the bushes. He was afraid of moving and attracting the attention of what was there.

Morgan came back running with a funny look on his face. "Yeah, you were right. There was something extremely frightening back there."

With a concern and scared look, Reid awaited for Morgan's words. He knew it. There surely was some kind of hungry animal near by or a huge snake or a humongous beast waiting for its prey, which could be them. He knew it. For God's sake, he had no experience in a forest. He was from Vegas after all.

Morgan saw Reid's alarmed reaction to his words and almost felt sorry for the kid. Almost.

"Be quiet and don't move. I'll tell you what's there, but you have to promise me you'll remain calm" Morgan whispered in Reid's ear.

"There are some incredibly huge..." Morgan paused, waiting for Reid's mind to fill in the blanks. "cute bunnies". And with that, Morgan let out a laugh that echoed around the place.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Morgan. Hilarious. Laugh at the poor guy who almost had a heart attack because of your little joke" said Reid offended.

"Come on, boy, don't take it so seriously. Try to relax and stop worrying."

"Fine, yeah, whatever" answered Reid, looking away from Morgan, feeling a bit silly at having been afraid of some rabbits.

Morgan kept laughing until he looked towards the fire. Something was not right about that scene.

"Reid?"

**A/N: That's it for now. I'll do my best to update soon. Angsty part is just around the corner.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, hey, hey, I'****m back, my friends. First of all, thanks to the kind reviews I've received. You're wonderful!**

**So to celebrate my birthday today, here you have another chapter of this little story.**

**DISCLAIMER: Own my own words, but nothing else.**

**Let the fun begin!**

Chapter III

"Reid?" asked Morgan with an angry tone.

"What? Do you want to keep laughing at me now?" Reid snapped back.

"¿Where's my fish?"

"Oh, I... Well... I don't know" answered Reid looking at the fishless fire. "I followed you near the bushes. I didn't stay here to check the fire."

"Man! Look at this mess!" exclaimed Morgan in a furious voice. His beloved and most wanted fish was completely on fire. It was all black. When Derek put out the fire, he saw that there was nothing to be eaten. He was angry. Oh, yeah... and most of all, he was hungry. A combination that didn't work out well for him or for those around him.

"Look, Morgan, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I was scared. I'm sorry" Reid apologized. He actually didn't feel that sorry for the fish, but he did for his friend. He was regretting his decision to mention the noise behind the bushes. After all, they were in a forest; it was obvious there were going to be noises, right? And unknown noises for those who'd never been there before, like Spencer.

Trying to amend the situation, Reid sat down near his canned sweet corn and beans and said, extending his arms "We still have these. Want some?" He was feeling pity for his hungry friend. If it was necessary, he wouldn't eat anything and would give everything to Morgan.

"If I want some?! No, Reid! I don't. I want my fish" yelled Morgan. "Even Jack would have been able to check the fire. Why do you always have to be so reckless?"

"Morgan, I... I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say" said Reid in a small voice, like a student apologizing to his teacher for not doing his homework.

"That's not good enough. But it's OK, it's my fault. You were right, I shouldn't have brought you here." And before he knew it, words he didn't mean left his mouth. "I shouldn't be around a little boy who can't do anything right."

Morgan's brain was screaming: "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You idiot!" But it was too late. In a moment of senseless anger, he'd said something he didn't even believe himself and he hated himself for that. He wanted to apologize immediately, but after those words, his mouth was completely shut and refused to move. He saw his friend's reaction and he loathed himself even more, if that was possible. Those words were said and, worst of all, they were heard.

Spencer Reid didn't have many friends. He had never had really good friends. But upon being part of the BAU team, he felt he had finally found his place in the world and was glad to be around people who cared for him. And since the first time he saw Derek Morgan, he knew he could trust him. As the years went by, Derek became more than his colleague, more than his partner, he became his friend. He trusted him, he trusted him with his life.

And so, when he heard his friend, his brother, said those words: _"I shouldn't be around a little boy who can't do anything right"_, he actually felt... broken. It wasn't a physical pain, he'd have preferred that. He'd have preferred Morgan to slap him on the face or even shoot him, anything... except hearing those words on his friend's lips. Like I said, it wasn't a physical pain, it was something worse. The worst kind of pain... it was an emotional pain that seemed to affect every muscle, every vein, every part of his body. And it hurt so much.

Reid was still looking at Morgan. Both of them were looking at each other, sharing the most hurtful moment. One was regretting saying those hideous words, the other, hearing them.

Morgan was the first one to snap out of it.

"Look, Reid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I'm so stupid!"

Silence. Reid just stayed there, looking at the grass and sitting on it, with tears forming in his eyes, but he refused to let them go.

"Kid... Reid, I shouldn't have said that. That's not what I think. You know that, right?" Morgan tried again.

Silence.

"Listen, I know I hurt you. But you have to believe me. I didn't mean it." Morgan was almost begging now. He knew the kid was stubborn, but he'd do anything to fix that mess.

Reid just stayed there, without moving a muscle till he felt he could deal with it. And then, without uttering a word, he started getting all his things in his backpack. He was angry, furious and his movements made that clear.

"What are you doing?" asked Morgan.

"What does it look like? I'm leaving." And looking straight into Morgan's eyes he said: "And you're not welcome to come with me."

"_I can do this. I CAN DO THIS"_ said Reid to himself.

"No, wait. Please, forgive me. It was just something stupid on my part. Come on, man!" Morgan just didn't know what else to say. "Please."

"You can stay if you want. I wouldn't like you to miss your fun free day having to deal with a little boy who can't do anything right!" Reid angrily exclaimed.

"_Oh, man, that hurt"_ thought Morgan, _"but I surely deserve it."_

"OK, if you're leaving, then I'm leaving with you" answered Morgan, gathering all his things.

"Thanks, but I don't need your help. I know I'm a huge pain in the ass for you, so why don't I do you a favor and leave you alone?!" Reid let out in those sentences all the pent-up anger and pain he felt. He didn't want to leave alone, but he wouldn't give Morgan the pleasure to see that. He was a grown man, after all, and he'd prove it.

Reid took his backpack and left. Morgan waited a few seconds, still startled by Spencer's words, and followed him without saying a word. There was nothing he could say to calm his friend.

**So, there. I'll update as soon as possible. Thanks for the reviews. And now, let the party begin**** and happy birthday to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**And here comes another chapter of my first ****story. I hope you like it! And thank you so much for the beautiful reviews. You guys are awesome! For those who asked for a longer chapter, here it comes.**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual. I just own my love for words and ideas.**

**Have fun!**

Chapter IV

Hurtful words can leave lifetime scars. They can cause low self-esteem in many people, especially children. They can become very powerful weapons. They cut deep. But the deepest cut isn't really those words, but rather the lost relationship and love of the people involved in the situation.

Spencer Reid walked through the tall trees watching as their branches danced along with the soft cool breeze of the afternoon. He was surrounded by green. It was an exquisite and most pleasurably scenery, except for the fact that he was not enjoying his time at all. He kept walking absent-minded of his surroundings. He just wanted to be far away from there... as far away as possible from the place that reminded him of such painful words: _"I shouldn't be around a little boy who can't do anything right"_. Morgan's words kept playing in his mind. Reid just wanted to shut them out; he wanted to forget about them; he wanted to believe that they'd never been in his friend's lips. But that was impossible. They had been said and, worst of all, his best friend pronounced them.

Spencer knew where he was going. He knew what he had to do and he also knew that he wasn't alone in that forest. A couple of feet behind him walked Derek Morgan. They hadn't talked since Reid's last outburst.

Derek Morgan walked behind Spencer Reid, trying hard not to get too close to his friend. He knew he needed time to calm down and he'd give him as much time as he needed. Or at least until they'd get to the real world. Then, he'd try again to apologize to his friend. But right now, he'd just walk behind his offended friend.

He kept his eyes in his friend's lanky figure, which showed that Reid was struggling to walk as fast as he could to increase the space between both of them. He knew the kid was far from coordinated and even more when he had his mind somewhere else. So it wasn't a big surprise to see him stumbling on a rock and falling backwards on the ground. Morgan rapidly went to his side to help him stand up.

"Reid, are you OK?" asked Morgan with a hand on Spencer's shoulder.

Reid just looked up and angrily answered "Don't touch me."

"I'm trying to help you. Let me carry your backpack" offered Morgan in response to his friend's icy words.

"No, thank you. I can do it myself." Reid stood up with some difficulty and started walking again, without sparing another look at his friend.

Both FBI agents kept walking in tense silence through the forest. Morgan struggled to come up with something to say to his friend that would appease his anger. Reid kept marching in front of him totally caught up on his own mind and thoughts.

"Don't move." Morgan suddenly whispered.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Reid snapped back looking straight into Morgan's eyes, although those eyes were fixed on something else to their right.

Slowly reacting to Morgan's face, which was laced with concern, Reid turned to his right and saw the reason for Morgan's words. An involuntarily frightened gasp escaped his mouth.

There, some feet away from the two men stood a big bear with thick brown fur, strong legs and large feet, looking straight at them with threatening eyes, clearly showing its killing thoughts.

Morgan kept a reassuring hand over Reid's shoulder. Reid was thankful for that. Their argument would have to wait until later. Standing near a bear in the middle of the forest was more important now and they'd need to work together to escape alive.

As if thinking that its preys were not scared enough, the bear stood up in two legs and let out a chilling loud growl, reminding both men that they were out of place there.

Reid stood next to Morgan paralyzed with fear. His mind kept sending him statistics about bears, which wouldn't help them in that situation. He couldn't reason with the bear, as he would do with an UNSUB. He knew that unless Morgan had a plan, they were totally screwed.

Morgan was assessing the situation, making sure Reid was close to him and reaching for his gun all at the same time. He didn't have a plan, he was just hoping the bear would be frightened to hear a shot and would run from the scene. But before he could even grab his gun, which was down in his backpack, the bear started moving towards them.

Morgan was determined to save his friend. He'd caused him enough pain himself and wouldn't let a bear get near him. All of a sudden, he figured out what he had to do to at least save Reid, although his own safety would be very much in doubt.

Morgan forcefully pushed Reid to his left, careful not to push him too close to the cliff a few feet away, and put his own backpack in front of him. _"Sure, use your stupid backpack. As if it could protect you from a bear!"_ thought Morgan, with sarcasm at his own movement.

Reid was startled to be pushed away from the bear. He remained there, watching as his friend tried to draw the attention of the bear while protecting himself only with a backpack.

The growling bear attacked Morgan, who fell backwards onto the ground. Morgan couldn't stand up. No matter how hard he tried, the bear kept attacking and destroying, with his mouth and claws, the only thing between it and its prey.

Reid stood watching the attack in disbelieve. He heard Morgan yelling at him to run. He knew the almost destroyed backpack wouldn't resist much longer and then, the bear would attack and probably kill his friend. He had to do something. He couldn't abandon Morgan when he needed him the most.

Then, Spencer's mind started working out a much-needed plan. He took his cell phone from his own backpack and lifted his hand in the air with it. He moved to his side, making sure to have the cliff, and the rocky lake below, behind him. He pressed a key and a loud tune started filling up the air.

Surprised, the bear let go of its prey on the ground and looked towards his side, where it saw the source of the annoying sound.

"_What the hell is he doing?"_ thought Morgan, still on the ground. He tried to move, but his body hurt too much. He knew that any sudden movement would make the bear attack him again.

All of a sudden, the bear turned its body to Reid and his cell phone, which was still ringing. It looked at Spencer as if he was covered in honey and was ready to be eaten.

It gave one step. Then another. And soon, it started growling while getting rapidly close to its new prey.

Reid knew he'd need to be fast to succeed or he'd pay a high price for his slowness.

The bear was just some feet away from Reid, ready to finish him off. It opened its huge and toothful mouth and launched its attack at a frightened, but determined Reid.

Spencer moved to his left, effectively avoiding the bear's mouth and claws. The animal couldn't stop itself as it made its way directly to the cliff.

Morgan watched the whole scene, which occurred in seconds, from his spot on the ground. He saw how the bear launched its attack, how Reid moved to his side and how the animal continued towards the cliff. And in a split of a second, he saw how the claws of the bear succeeded in grabbing Reid's backpack, which was still attached to the kid's back. He saw that Reid looked at him relieved that his plan had worked, but it was obvious that the kid was still shocked by the whole situation and didn't understand why suddenly he was being pulled backwards.

With pleading eyes, Reid yelled "Morgan!" before noticing that there was no ground below his feet.

And without warning, Spencer Reid was flying.

**A/N: Did you like it? I'll try to ****update as soon as possible, so you won't have to wait too much to know what happens. Enjoy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, guys! So are you ready for more? ****Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I didn't expect to receive so many messages in my first story (or actually, in any story at all!)**

**But, well, thank you! And let's continue with this adventure...**

**DISCLAIMER: CM is not mine, unfortunately.**

Chapter V

Shocked. Completely and utterly shocked.

When we see a loved one in a situation of danger, our minds paralyze. Our bodies stop working properly. We keep asking ourselves _"Is this a dream? I can't be awake. This is not happening."_ We keep reliving the situation non stop in our heads trying to make sense of it. But sometimes, things just don't make sense and there's no explanation whatsoever.

Morgan had just seen his best friend go over the cliff. One minute he was standing there with his phone in hand trying to save his life and the next, he was gone. He vanished into thin air, as if he had never been there in the first place. Derek could not forget Spencer's pleading eyes fixed on his while he was being pulled towards the cliff. _"It was my fault"_ thought Morgan. _"He's dead because of me."_

The FBI agent laid there on the ground just staring at the trees above him with unexpected tears on his eyes and anger and guilt in his heart. _"How could I let him die like this? I was responsible for him. Why didn't I do something? What will I tell the team? Hotch will be extremely disappointed. Garcia won't talk to me never again. JJ won't be able to hide her hatred towards me. Prentiss and Rossi won't be able to trust me again to cover their backs in the field. After all, I've just killed our youngest friend."_ Derek Morgan was devastated. Shattered.

But he heard a tiny voice in his head. _"You can't give up. This isn't over, till you find his body."_ Then, he started moving, or at least trying. His body hurt so much. Between the fall and the bear's thrusts, he had his body covered in bruises and marks. His arms had been in contact with the animal's claws, despite his useless attempts to protect himself with his backpack. A single line of red warm blood was running through his face from a cut on his forehead.

"You have to try harder. Reid wouldn't give up on you. You have to do this for the kid" said Morgan to himself.

An evil voice in his head whispered _"This is pointless. He's dead. Face it."_

But he ignored it, determined to find his friend or what was left of him...

He tried once more to get to a sitting position and despite feeling really dizzy and seeing his whole world spinning around, he succeeded.

"Good, now you have to stand up." Morgan told himself. He first got to his knees and then, with the help of a tree, he managed to finally remain in a standing position, swaying a bit. He closed his eyes to try to relax and forget about the pain he felt on his muscles.

Now that he had regained certain stability, he needed to start moving fast. If Reid was alive, he would certainly be injured and in need of help. "No 'IF'. Damn it! He IS alive!" said Morgan out loud, trying to convince himself. He wouldn't lose hope. He couldn't afford to do that. If he did, and Reid was in fact alive, he'd be killing Reid's slim chance to survive.

Walking slowly and on weak legs, Morgan got close to the edge of the cliff and looked down. There was nothing there, except the lake. Nature continued its normal course.

"Reid!" Morgan yelled expecting for a miracle.

Silence.

"Reid! Please, answer me, kid!"

Silence. Apparently, it was not a day for miracles.

"_Don't waste__ your energy. The kid is gone"_ said the evil little voice in his head. Morgan was getting tired of it.

"I'm coming for you! You hear me? Hang in there. I'm coming!" Morgan exclaimed, without knowing if Reid could hear him or not, or whether he was alive to do so, and started looking for a way down, a different one from the one the younger FBI agent had taken.

Morgan ran through trees and bushes, occasionally stumbling on rocks. He found a path down and tried to cover it fast. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see a tree root on the ground and fell head first landing on his mouth.

"Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed. Morgan stood up in a laborious manner, straightening his dirty clothes and removing all dirt from his mouth. He bit his lower lip when falling and now he was tasting his own blood.

He was tired and in pain. He just wanted to find Reid and put an end to their nightmare. He leaned against a tree and closed his eyes.

"_Come on, Derek.__ Don't give up. Bring him home."_ Morgan heard Hotch's voice in his head.

Then, it was JJ's turn. _"Morgan, please, find Spence."_

"_You can do it, Superfox. My junior G-Man is counting on you" _said the unmistakable voice of his Baby girl.

"_Come on, Morgan. Your friend needs your help" _said the authoritative voice of Rossi.

"_The team is counting on you. Keep going" _Emily's voice said before Morgan opened his eyes with renewed determination.

Derek Morgan began running again among the trees. He kept his eyes on the lake that was getting nearer every second. He was exhausted, but the adrenaline was kicking in. He was breathing hard and felt nervous and anxious for what he would find once he got to the lake.

Upon reaching his destination, he saw the cliff up above it, the rocks, the bushes and all nature had to offer, but there was no sign of Reid.

"_Please, don't let him be dead at the bottom of the lake"_ thought Morgan. He kept looking for Reid and calling out his friend's name.

"Reid! Reid! Come on, man, answer me!"

And then, he saw his attacker. The huge brown bear was there, lying at the bank of the lake, dead.

Morgan closed his eyes, pleading with all his heart not to find Reid like that.

Then, he turned around and caught an image that would haunt him for the rest of his life. On top of a rock, facing down, laid the body of his colleague, the genius, his partner, the doctor, his friend, his brother.

Like the rock, Spencer Reid was motionless... lifeless.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the ending of this chapter, but I had to stop here. Don't hate me! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi all! Are you ready for more?**

**First of all, thank you for the many "I hate yous" I received. I know, I deserve them for leaving you there with the doubt. I'm sorry. But here we are again. Another adventure/sad/hurt chapter coming our way. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual. Other people own Mr. Reid and Mr. Morgan, not me. I swear.**

**Keep reviewing (if you are in the mood).**

Chapter VI

**BAU Headquarters – Quantico**

Penelope Garcia and Jennifer Jareau were talking leaning on Morgan's desk. Aaron Hotchner left his office and went straight to them.

"JJ, here are the reports you asked me for" he said.

"Hotch, I thought the whole team had a free day today. Strauss' orders" said Garcia looking at him as if she was going to call Chief Strauss and give him away for disobeying.

"Actually, yes, but I was behind with some paperwork so I spent the whole morning in my office" answered her boss. "Besides, I didn't have anything to do at home."

"You could've gone fishing with Morgan and Reid. They must be having a great time" said JJ with a smile on her lips. She knew that Morgan was surely regretting taking Reid to the forest by now. The kid didn't know how to behave outdoors.

Hotch nodded, but caught a glimpse of worry in Garcia's gaze.

"Is everything alright, Garcia?"

"Well..." started saying the tech "I've been trying to contact Reid and Morgan. I just feel that something is wrong. It's like when a mother just knows that something is not right with her children. But I haven't been able to get through to any of them" continued Garcia. "I have a weird feeling about my babies."

"Maybe they're somewhere with no phone service" offered JJ, trying to calm her friend.

"Or maybe they turned their phones off. After all, it is their first free day in a long time" commented Hotch.

"Yeah, I know, and I've been also trying to track their phones and nothing. It's just so frustrating" explained Garcia.

"Don't worry. They're grown men. They can take care of themselves" uttered Hotch.

"Really? Reid?" said Garcia with a questioning look and fun in her voice. "Seriously?"

"Well, maybe not Reid. But Morgan is with him. He'll take care of Spence" answered JJ.

Garcia was still worried and JJ's words didn't comfort her. She knew something was wrong with her men.

* * *

**Somewhere in the forest**

"Oh God, Reid!" Morgan ran to his friend. He was so scared that it hurt. His heart was racing, his palms were sweaty and his worries were plastered in his eyes.

In front of him, his best friend's body lay on a rock, face down. _"Please, don't be dead, please"_ thought Morgan.

"Reid, answer me. Come on, kid!" The words choked in his throat.

Derek got to Reid's side and turned him around trying to feel his pulse. Spencer's face was as white as snow, eyes closed and semi opened mouth. He had a nasty gash on his forehead and bruises on his left cheek, a part from on great part of his body. Both of his hands had bloody cuts on them, probably from the rocks or even the bear's claws. At first sight, it was obvious that his left shoulder was dislocated.

"I'm begging you, kid. Please, don't give up!" said Morgan in a teary voice.

He nervously waited to feel Reid's pulse on the kid's neck to the point of stopping breathing. And just like that, the miracle he'd been asking for was granted to him. Under his fingers, he felt a timid, slow pulse. Spencer Reid was breathing, barely. He was alive. But Morgan didn't know for how long. He needed to wake his friend up.

Slightly shaking Reid's right shoulder, Morgan kept at his attempts to wake his baby brother up.

"Come on, kid. It's time to open your eyes. Don't leave me. You hear me?"

Unfortunately, his attempts were miserably failing.

"_I have to find a way"_ thought Morgan.

Then, he got up and went to collect some water from the lake. He took off his jacket and got it wet. He went back to where his friend was with the dripping jacket and let some drops fall on Reid's ghostly face.

Nothing. No reaction at all. Not even a blink.

He checked the kid's pulse again, just to make sure he was still alive and felt the erratic movement under his fingers.

"Come on, kid. Open your eyes. You need to wake up now."

He was running out of ideas. He couldn't think straight with his friend barely alive next to him.

Then, he saw his friend's dislocated shoulder and decided to fix it. Although he knew it would be excruciatingly painful for the kid, he also knew he'd need to do it, sooner or later. It was better to do it then, when the kid was completely out.

Morgan whispered to his friend's ear "I know it's going to hurt, but I have to do it. Forgive me, please."

He grabbed Reid's left arm with careful hands and put his foot on the injured man's frail shoulder. Morgan then pulled Reid's arm up until he heard the sound that indicated him that the shoulder was back into the joint.

Almost at that exact moment, Reid's eyes fluttered open and, after a split of a second of utter confusion and fear, he let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed in the forest, silencing all other sounds around, even Morgan's thoughts.

**Ouch, that hurt. Sorry it's short, but I didn't want you guys to keep waiting. So, there you have it, Reid is still alive... but for how long? Keep reading to find out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there! I'm back! Once again I want to thank all**** of you who reviewed, all of you who still hate me for what I'm doing to Reid, all of you who are desperate to know what's next for the boys, all of you who read the story and don't leave comments, etc, etc. Thank you all. And remember, this is just a story, don't get upset, don't get angry, just relax and enjoy the reading (if you feel like it). Well, I'll stop here, so you can start reading.**

**Have fun!**

**DISCLAIMER: The usual thing. I asked for a Reid for my birthday, but I didn't get him. So CBS still owns him and the whole show.**

* * *

Chapter VII

Everything was quiet for a second and then came the "crack" sound of Reid's shoulder followed by the frightful, heartbreaking scream that escaped Spencer's mouth. Morgan for a moment felt blessed by that sound. He was so thankful for the meaning of that sound that he could've danced on one leg, if the situation would have been different.

Spencer Reid was alive and awake. But he was hurting... and a lot.

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid was in a blissfully painless darkness and suddenly he started traveling to a light that grew nearer and nearer. Without warning, the images of that day filled his head, unleashing a dam of memories: the camp, the forest and its wonders, Morgan, their argument, the bear, Morgan on the ground withstanding the animal's thrusts, his cell phone, the mammal's threatening eyes, his own fear and then... nothing. A complete and utter nothingness.

Now, he was in the light again, but his mind couldn't understand anything of his present reality. Someone was talking to him while he was shaking uncontrollably. He was in so much pain that he couldn't stand it. He wanted it to stop. Then, he tried to focus his eyes and saw Morgan's face, distorted by his concern. Why was his friend worry? And worst of all, why was he hurting him?

"Don't do this!" Reid hollered, with tears running down his face. "You're hurting me!" He was coughing and panting. "Please, stop! It hurts, please!" He lay there, gasping and shuddering on the ground. He was begging his friend. "Don't do it, please!"

Derek Morgan grabbed hold of Reid's uninjured shoulder to stop his shakes. "Kid, don't move! You'll make it worse."

Pain and fear were evident in the depths of the young agent's eyes. It hurt him so much to see the kid in such a state of agonizing pain. With soothing words, Morgan tried to calm his friend down, asking him to relax. "Reid, I know it hurts, but it's the only way. I'll make it better, I promise."

Reid tried to focus his gaze, despite the sea of tears in his eyes, and to understand what Morgan was saying.

"You have to listen to me" said Morgan getting his face in front of Reid, making sure the kid was paying attention to him, leaving behind his fears. "Your shoulder was dislocated and I've just put it back into the joint. Now, you have to stop moving, so I can immobilize your arm. Do you understand?"

Reid gulped nervously, making sense of those words in his foggy mind, and nodded.

"It's going to hurt, but I'll try to do it fast so you'll feel better soon, OK?" Morgan looked at his friend with reassuring eyes, "Do you trust me?"

And with an exhausted and teary voice, Reid answered "With my life."

Morgan then took a piece of his worn out jeans and Reid's belt and settled himself to accomplish the complicated and unpleasant task.

While immobilizing Reid's shoulder, Morgan tried very hard to ignore his partner's painful gasps and whimpers. He saw Reid had forcefully closed his eyes to prevent his tears from falling, although inevitably they were rolling down his bruised and stained cheeks.

At the same time the older FBI agent worked on his shoulder, Reid gripped tightly to the ground turning his knuckles white and desperately tried not to move.

Once the ordeal was over, Reid felt a bit better as his arm was completely immobilized. He still was exhausted and his head was pounding. He looked at Morgan, who remained sitting on the ground by his side, and in a plaintive voice, he said "Thank you."

"Any time, kid" answered Morgan. "Is it a bit better now?"

"Yes." Reid licked his lips and added "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" asked Morgan with concern tainting his voice.

"Well, yes, I remember the bear and you being attacked by it. And then, I remember that I tried to draw its attention from you to send it down the cliff, but that's all. I guess my plan didn't work out all too well. What happened next?" Reid was talking slowly with his eyes closed as if reliving the whole situation.

"Well, actually, it kind of worked out. You saved my life, kid." Morgan paused there and continued his tale "When the bear was about to fall down, its claws grabbed your backpack and pulled you with it. I guess you fell in the lake and somehow you finished on a rock." Thinking that his friend could have died there sent shivers down Morgan's spine.

"I guess I should thank you" said Morgan.

"Why?" asked Reid, confused.

"If you hadn't used your phone, the animal would have finished with me in a second" explained Morgan, almost smiling.

"Well, I couldn't let it kill you. If I'm not mistaken, I wanted to kill you myself before the attack. I couldn't let it take that pleasure from me" said Reid, looking at his friend with a grin on his face.

Morgan was surprised to hear that from Reid and had to look him in the eye to confirm that he was joking.

"Yeah, well, I guess I deserve it. Kid, I'm really sorry for what I said." Morgan didn't want to mention those horrible words again. Of course, he didn't considered Reid a little kid who couldn't do anything right. His friend was a genius and an excellent agent. And he was proud of him.

"It's OK, Morgan. I know I overreacted. You were just feeling frustrated and weren't thinking straight." And then, to put an end to the matter, he said smiling "Now, I know that I shouldn't be around you when you're hungry. You get angry with an empty stomach."

Both agents were glad to put the argument behind. Reid knew he would remember forever, but he also knew that his friend didn't think that about him.

After a few moments in silence, Spencer started to feel tired and was beginning to notice that his eyelids were falling down. Morgan saw him blinking repeatedly and knew he couldn't let the kid go to sleep. Reid had banged his head in the fall and he surely had a concussion. They needed to start moving again to go for help. Spencer had lost a fairly amount of blood, his head looked swollen and the improvised arm restraint wouldn't resist too much time.

"OK, kid, time to move on."

"I'm tired" answered Reid in a sleepy voice.

"I know, but you need help and we don't have our phones to call for it. We won't spend the night here. We lost both our guns and we don't have any food or drinking water" explained Morgan, getting to his feet, feeling the exhaustion in his muscles.

"We still have a couple of hours of light and we may find the road or someone who can help us nearby. Come on, I'll help you."

Morgan carefully grabbed Reid by his armpits, trying not to move his injured shoulder, and helped him to stand up. Reid swayed a little, feeling nauseous and dizzy. Derek tried to let him go, but the kid was not able to stand on his own.

"Morgan... I can't" whispered Reid almost falling down. Morgan grabbed him again, supporting part of his weight.

"Kid, I know it's hard, but we have to go now."

"I can't move... I'm trying... but I can't." Reid had his eyes closed trying to fight back the sense of fuzziness in his head and his words were slurring a bit.

"Come on, man. Try harder. We can't stay here" said Morgan. He wouldn't let Reid give up. They had to start walking.

"But I can't walk. Everything hurts" argued Reid. "My head is killing me."

"We won't stay here, Reid." Morgan spoke in a firmer voice.

"I just can't." Reid was almost begging. He knew they had to go, but his body was not responding and he just wanted to lie down.

Then Morgan made up his mind. "OK, fine, you can't walk, but I can carry you." He grabbed Reid by his right arm, supporting most of his weight, and put an arm around the kid's waist. Then, they started walking slowly in search of help.

* * *

**There you go. So the adventure continues.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here we are again! And it's Christmas time!**** As a present for all of you, here's another chapter of this little story. Have fun!**

**DISCLAIMER: So, I talked to the CBS people and they insist that these characters and the show is theirs. What can we do?**

* * *

Chapter VIII

The sun shone weakly on the horizon among the tree tops, while a soft cool breeze danced with the branches and the leaves, decreasing the temperature in the surroundings. Beautiful creatures of nature run around the forest barely aware of the two intruders.

One man walked with difficulty, with sweat rolling down his face and covering his body. He was carrying and almost dragging another man, who looked as light as a feather, as white as snow, as thin as a stick and as dead as a corpse. Unlike the first man, who seemed to be as hot as one would be on a summer afternoon with a temperature of more than a hundred degrees, the second man looked cold, extremely cold, shivering at every step.

"Hey, kid, are you still with me?" worriedly asked Morgan.

He couldn't say much. He felt his body giving way to the exhaustion. Walking through the forest carrying Reid's weight was not an easy task at all. He had been about to fall a couple of times and Reid's legs were always getting trapped on tree roots and branches on the ground.

They hadn't covered as much territory in the hour they had been walking as he had hoped. The area seemed abandoned by all civilized life and the road was nowhere to be seen. At least, he knew they were going in the right direction. Sooner or later, they'd come across it. He just wished they'd do it soon. He wouldn't be able to keep doing that for too long. And Morgan knew Reid was getting more tired by the minute.

"Reid?" He asked again, slightly squeezing the kid's waist with his arm to draw his attention.

"Hmm." Reid didn't have the strength to say not even one word. His head was pounding even worse than before. If his restraint arm hadn't been throbbing, if his muscles and joints hadn't ached and burned with fatigue, if he had not been shivering from the cold, he might have thought that he was in a nightmare. But he was suffering such discomfort and pain that he didn't need to pinch himself to determine if he was awake.

"Don't worry, this will be over soon." Morgan didn't know if Reid believed him or not. He actually was trying to convinced himself and the kid with those words.

"Mm... Morgan... stop" said Reid, almost whispering, making a great effort. "I think... I'm going... to be sick." The young FBI agent had his right hand on his mouth. He couldn't support his own weight. Morgan was taken aback by the kid's ill look, but he could react just in time, letting the young man kneel on the ground, before the waves of vomit, coming one after another, shook the whole of his frail body. Morgan was there, kneeling by the kid's side, grabbing his locks of hair so they wouldn't be on his face and saying whatever he could think of to comfort his friend.

After retching, gagging and emptying all his stomach's content, Reid fell on the ground. He was exhausted. That couldn't go no. He couldn't go on.

Without uttering a word, both men moved farther from the vomit and nearer to a tree, where Reid could rest for a moment.

"Do you feel better now, kid?" asked Morgan, a lace of concern creeping into his voice.

"No." Reid winced when he tried to get in a more comfortable position by the tree.

"Are you going to be sick again?"

"No, my arm. It hurts" answered Reid, almost out of breath.

"I know. You must have moved it a bit while vomiting." Morgan felt worn out and useless. It was frustrating seeing his friend in such devastating state and feeling he couldn't do anything to help. _"Don't give up. The kid needs you" _thought Morgan.

"OK, kid, we have to go on" he said gathering energies from whatever he could find them in his body before getting to his feet.

Reid just stayed there, looking straight in front of him to nowhere in particular. He seemed to be sleeping with his eyes open. "No" he whispered.

"What do you mean?" asked Morgan, confused.

"I'm not going anywhere" stated Reid with determination in his voice.

* * *

**BAU – Quantico**

"_You've reached SSA Derek Morgan. Leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as I can."_

_Beep_

"You better call me soon! Why the hell did you turn your phone off?! You're in big trouble. Call me ASAP or you'll regret it, Muffin" said Garcia before snapping her phone shut.

Then, she tried again, now dialing Reid's number.

"_You've reached SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. I can't answer right now. Please, leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as possible. Thank you."_

_Beep_

"Where the hell are you? Sweetcheeks, you better call me soon and tell me you're fine. Call me, please!"

"Damn it!" Exasperated, she groaned in anger and threw her head in her hands.

"Still nothing?" said a voice behind her.

Penelope turned around and saw JJ, who was carrying some files in her arms.

"Nothing, zip, nada. JJ, I'm really worried. Something is wrong, I can feel it" said Garcia. She had been calling her boys all afternoon with no luck. The desperation in her voice told JJ that she was serious.

"Have you tried their homes? Maybe they're already back and they haven't had time to call you." By the look in Garcia's eyes, JJ knew that she had already tried calling every available phone number she had.

"Look, they're probably on their way back and as soon as they get home, they'll call you. And tomorrow, when you see them, you'll feel silly at having been worried all day." JJ tried to reassure her friend.

JJ didn't want to admit that she had tried calling them a couple of times after talking to Garcia and Hotch before. And she was trying hard to ignore the little nagging worry at the back of her mind.

"Why don't you go home now? Go get some rest and you'll see them tomorrow. Even Hotch is already gone for the day" continued JJ.

"Maybe you're right" said Garcia, still unconvinced. "I'll check some things I have left and I'll go home. I may be able to get through to them later. "She made a pause and then se said irritated "But I swear that they are going to listen to me. How they dare do this to me?"

"OK, if you want, I can help you to teach them a lesson so they won't do this again" offered JJ smiling.

"Seriously, Penelope, stop worrying and go home" said JJ in a motherly tone.

"OK, fine. Now, you go home and pamper my cute godson. Tell him Aunty Penelope will kick Uncles Derek and Spencer's butts tomorrow." Garcia, even when she was worried, could always add witticism to every situation.

"See you tomorrow" said JJ leaving the Supreme Goddess office.

Once alone again, Garcia collected all her belongings and turned off the computers around her. After some moments, she was ready to leave. But before doing so, she tried one more time.

"_You've reached SSA Derek Morgan. Leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as I can."_

"Damn it! Where the hell are you, guys?!"

* * *

**So, here you have the pre-Christmas chapter. Soon you'll have the post-Christmas. Happy holidays, guys! ¡Feliz ****Navidad para todos!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, my friends! So, ****did you have a good Christmas? I really hope so! I want to thank once again to all the people who read the story and reviewed it. I'm glad there are people out there enjoying it. So, here's another chapter.**

**DISCLAIMER: You may think I have Spencer and Derek in my bedside table, but I swear I don't. They're not mine, unfortunately.**

**HAVE FUN!**

Chapter IX

"I'm not going anywhere."

Those words echoed in Morgan's mind, mocking him. He felt as if someone had punched him in his stomach and he fought the urge to shake his friend, who was clearly giving up the fight. There had to be a solution. He was his little brother. He was supposed to protect him. But the determination in the kid's eyes frightened him.

"What are you saying?" Morgan let out, afraid of the answer.

"I just can't go on."

Dr. Spencer Reid had fought against the adversity his whole life. He was not someone who would give up. His mind was always working in search of a solution. There is always a solution, he was certain of that. Norman Vincent Peale said: "Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles, they toughen and make strong." But what happens when your mind and body just want to give up? How can you go against them? Spencer Reid didn't want to surrender to the strenuous pain and exhaustion running through his body or the attracting idea of giving himself up to the luring unconsciousness, but...

"OK, kid, I know you're tired, but you can't give up" said Morgan with an alarmed voice. "I won't let you do it. I understand you feel like you can't go on, but I can help you."

"That's it, Morgan, you can't help me. Look at yourself," Reid uttered pitifully, his voice coming out high and squeaky.

"What do you mean?"

"Man, you can barely stand yourself, how will you carry me too?" All Reid's energies were slowly leaving his body. Every thought hurt and talking was getting harder by the minute.

"No, Reid, I can do it." _"How can I convince him that I can when I can't even convince myself of that?"_ thought Morgan in desperation.

"Listen to me, we can rest for a few more minutes and then we'll keep moving. We'll soon find the road" said Morgan ignoring Reid, saying no with his head.

"No, you listen to me. I can't go on. I can't stand up, not now, not in a few minutes," painfully uttered Reid before he was interrupted by his friend.

"Don't give up, kid."

"I'm not. I can't go on and you can't carry me." Reid paused, and taking a deep breath, he continued, "You'll have to go for help... alone."

Morgan shook his head no and kept his eyes on the young profiler in front of him, unable to believe the nightmare they were living.

"No, Reid, I won't leave you."

"We don't have any other choice." Reid's words were interrupted by a series of coughs that made him winced. He took one painful breath before continuing. "I won't give up. I'll just wait for you here."

Morgan's fears were plastered in his face and his heart hurt at the sight of the kid's tearful eyes.

"I can't leave you here, kid. There's no way I'll do that."

"Morgan, listen to me. I know you feel like you have to protect me. And I thank you for that. But I'm a grown man." His words were tumbling over each other. Reid paused to regain control of his voice. "I'm an FBI agent, like you. And now, you have to face the fact that our only hope, my only hope, is that you go for help, while I stay here—"

"But, Reid..." Morgan tried to interrupt.

"No, let me finish, please," whispered Reid. "You have to trust me. I can't go on, but I'll wait for you to come back." Talking was so painful that every word hurt his throat.

"I trust you, kid, but I won't leave you here alone." Morgan couldn't leave his injured friend alone in the forest. He just couldn't conceive that idea. The kid was there because of him.

"Morgan, please."

"Fine," said Morgan, sitting closer to Reid. "If you stay, I'll stay." The older FBI agent continued, hoping to convince his fellow agent. But he didn't expect the following words that left Reid's mouth.

"Fine, then you'll be killing me." Reid said those words like accepting his fate.

"Don't say that. Don't ever say that!" Morgan couldn't face to be the reason for his friend's death. He had to help him, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the kid.

They remained there in silence completely caught up in their thoughts. Reid was struggling to stay in consciousness, blinking hard and swallowing even harder. Morgan was struggling with his feelings, which were at war. _"What should I do? I can't leave him, that's a fact. But he'll die if he doesn't receive proper care. That's a fact as well."_ He saw how Reid shifted, wincing and shivering, with his head damped with cold sweat and his hair plastered to his forehead.

His thoughts were interrupted by the kid's coughs and then, the words "Please, Morgan." He was almost begging to be abandoned in the forest.

"This is so wrong. Damn it!" Morgan was furious at the situation, which seemed to be laughing at them. There was no right answer to their problem.

"OK." They were two letters, only one word, but they were so heavy and they had such a complicated meaning that it hurt to say them.

"_What am I thinking? Am I really abandoning him?"_ asked Morgan to himself, while stretching his muscles before getting to his feet.

As if reading his thoughts, Reid said, "You're not abandoning me. I know you'll come back," his voice faltered with emotion. He was so afraid to be left alone, but he knew that he shouldn't show that to Morgan or he wouldn't leave him and then, that would be the end of the story.

"Fine, I'll go and I'll be back as soon as possible, kid. You have to stay awake. Don't go to sleep. You hear me?" said Morgan squatting down by Reid's side.

"I won't. I'll do my best. I promise."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Morgan after seeing a hint of fear in Reid's eyes.

"No... But there's no other choice. I'll be fine. Now, you should get going to take advantage of the light" said Reid in a low voice, ignoring Morgan's concerned voice.

Hesitatingly, Morgan got to his feet and got ready to leave.

"Reid, you have to do something to remain awake. I don't know, why don't you sing something?" Morgan didn't want the kid to fall asleep as soon as he left him.

The young profiler looked at him with confusion in his wide brown eyes. "What?"

"You have to do something. I don't want you to go to sleep. Just sing something so I'll know you're still awake while I'm gone" explained Derek.

"Morgan, that's ridiculous. You won't be able to hear me anyway." It was getting harder to speak and the shivers weren't helping. "Besides, I can't think of any song. So, just go."

"OK, fine, recite something, then. Come on, Pretty Boy, that big head of yours has more books in storage than any library in the world. Think of something," suggested Morgan.

"_How can he want me to recite something? This is crazy! For God's sake, I'm tired!"_ screamed Reid in his head. But a tiny voice inside told him that he could do it and he should do it soon, so his friend could start walking away in search of help.

"Fine, but just go now."

Morgan was about to leave, but turned around to look at the kid one last time.

"Hey, kid?"

"Hmm?" Reid looked at his friend. He knew he had to be strong, but that was becoming one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.

"Wait for me, OK? You're gonna be OK. I'll come back for you." There was so much confusion, sadness and fear inside him that he couldn't go on.

"I know. I trust you. And, Morgan...thanks." Tears were threatening to leave Reid's eyes, but he wouldn't allow them to do so.

And like that, Morgan turned and rapidly walked away from his injured friend, who remained there, against a tree, looking at his back till there was nothing else to see but trees, bushes and all the wonders of nature.

Spencer Reid then started reciting in a low voice:

"_Whose woods these are I think I know.  
His __house__ is in the village, though;  
He will not see me stopping here  
To watch his woods fill up with snow."_

"My little horse must think it queer  
To stop without a farmhouse near  
Between the woods and frozen lake  
The darkest evening of the year."

"He gives his harness bells a shake  
To ask if there is some mistake.  
The only other sound's the sweep  
Of easy wind and downy flake."

"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep."

Darkness was near.

**So, there you go. I hope you like it. And soon it will continue. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! ****Last day of the year 2009. What better way to spend it than reading this? Well, yeah, there're better days. Anyways, here is another chapter of the story (so no one brings the dogs out and make them come after me) :0)**

**DISCLAIMER: OK, so, it's not mine... Maybe next year that will change.**

**Enjoy!! And have a wonderful 2010!**

* * *

Chapter X

The blue sky held not one cloud to hinder the fading sun of the late afternoon. The place was quiet, for the exception of the occasional bird singing, and the cool wind was rushing back and forth dancing with the tree tops. High up above the forest roof, birds of different kinds flew around the trees. On the ground, a variety of insects roamed freely the forest floor.

Sitting against a tree, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid counted the seconds of every minute to keep himself from sleeping. He couldn't do anything but wait. Wait for help, wait for his friend to come back for him, wait to be saved and wait for the darkness to arrive. That was not an attractive idea, but he knew that soon the sun would be gone and he would find himself in complete darkness in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the creatures of nature.

"Oh, God," he sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

In another part of the forest, the same sky watched over other trees, birds and creatures. And also it witnessed the desperate run of a man in search of help. His body was covered in sweat, he was hot and tired. His heart was beating fast pumping blood and adrenaline through his veins. He focused himself on performing the task ahead, get help, and tried hard not to think about the man he had left behind.

SSA Derek Morgan felt ashamed of his decision. _"Never leave a man behind."_ Those words, so many times heard from marines, played in his head again and again. It didn't matter that he knew it was the only choice he had had. He felt disgusted with himself for not being able to find another solution.

"_You'll be killing me."_ Reid had said when he refused to leave him. The kid was right. His poor condition was deteriorating by the minute.

"_I trust you."_ The kid depended on him. He had to go for help.

He was so caught up on his thoughts that he didn't pay attention to the ground and fell head first on a puddle of water.

"Damn it!"

* * *

Reid's eyes were menacing to fall. He blinked hard repeatedly, to avoid falling asleep. Long unshed tears were on the verge of rolling down his face. He felt how darkness approached, inside and out. He fought against the dark spots dancing on his vision with all his will. He fought against them with every part of his self. He fought off the dizziness that threatened to send him into a blessed oblivion.

His head was killing him. He touched the bump on his head with his right hand fingers and winced at the pain he felt. The small cuts from the cliff fall on his body hurt, but that was nothing compared to the throbbing pain he felt on his left shoulder. He was thirsty... he was hungry... he was desolated and scared.

* * *

"_You've reached SSA Derek Morgan. Leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as I can."_

_Beep_

"I'm tired of talking to this stupid machine! I swear I'll take your head off if you don't call me soon!"

Garcia hung up the phone. Her desperation was palpable as she continued to dial another number.

"_You've reached SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. I can't answer right now. Please, leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as possible. Thank you."_

_Beep_

Garcia hung up before leaving a message.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" She screamed towards the ceiling of her apartment. "Where the hell are my babies?"

* * *

After falling on the puddle of water, Derek Morgan crawled and sat there, eyes closed, resting against a tree. He felt the exhaustion of the day, of the week, of the month crashing down on his shoulders.

He remembered the last image he had of his injured friend, sitting against a tree, just like he was now. Reid's hair fell down on his face, soaking in sweat. His eyes were pleading him to leave, but at the same time, showing his most inner fears to be left alone. The protruded bump on his head seemed to be growing bigger. Stain and small traces of blood covered his disheveled figure.

"_This is all my fault. If it hadn't been for me, the kid would be safe right now, probably reading on his apartment's couch" _thought Morgan. _"If anything happens to him..."_

He didn't want to continue that thought. He didn't dare to do so. How would he explain the team that the kid was gone because he pushed him to go fishing with him? How would he be able to forgive himself? He knew the answer to that one. He wouldn't. It would be his fault, no doubt about that.

Then, suddenly, he heard the blessed sound of a car speeding away.

"The road" said Morgan, opening his eyes. "I have to go."

He rapidly and painfully stood up and started going towards where he heard the sound. He moved as if running for his life, well, in fact he was running for Reid's life. Hope was growing more and more inside him, giving him the strength to continue through the trees, looking ahead waiting to see the most sought after road.

* * *

"_Wake up, Reid."_

Who was talking to him? He was alone there. So no one could be talking to him, urging him to wake up. It was pointless. He was tired. Why wake up if he didn't have anything to do, but sit there and wait alone? Numbness was slowly taking over his body.

"_Spence, you have to try."_ JJ voice sounded far away in his head.

"I'm trying!" Reid wanted to scream, but nothing left his lips.

"_Reid, you said you'd wait for Morgan"_ said Hotch's voice.

"_Come on, Reid. Don't give up."_ That was Prentiss.

"_You can do this, kid"_ said, matter-of-factly, Rossi's voice.

"_If you die right now, I'll bring you back to life so I can kill you myself, Sugar."_ There was no doubt that Garcia could do that.

Then, it was the turn of his friend, the person he trusted the most in the world, _"Pretty boy, come on, wake up. I'm coming for you."_

And then, Spencer Reid opened his eyes and started his fight to hold on, to wait for just a moment longer.

* * *

It couldn't have been a dream. He had heard the car, he knew it. The road had to be near.

"Come on, come on. Where the hell is it?"

He kept running without hesitation, propelled by sheer protective instincts.

Extreme anxiety gripped his throat, when just a couple of feet away, on a little higher ground level, Morgan saw the road.

"Thank God."

Now, he would just have to wait for a car to come. Suddenly, his wish was granted and he spotted the headlights of a car in the distance. He was pretty sure it was a patrol car.

Raising his arms over his head and standing in the middle of the road, Morgan started jumping and waving like crazy.

"Hey! Stop!" he shouted. "Please, stop!"

* * *

**So here you have the last chapter... of 2009. You'll have to wait till next year to see what happens next!**

**Have a great 2010!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy New Year!!! Thank you very much for the wonderful reviews. ****I'm so glad you find this interesting. So here's the first chapter of 2010. And the adventure continues...**

**DISCLAIMER: Can I tell you a secret? CM is not really mine. Shhh...**

**Have fun!**

* * *

Chapter XI

"_You've reached SSA Derek Morgan. Leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as I can."_

_Beep_

"Morgan, it's Hotch. I thought to let you know that you have to call Garcia as soon as possible. She's going crazy because you haven't answered her calls all day. I hope to see you and Reid tomorrow morning. No excuses." Hotchner hung up the phone.

Looking at his son Jack sleeping with his head on his lap, he quietly said: "They better not tell me that they're too tired after their free day."

He had to admit that he was a bit worried after having been unable to contact Morgan and Reid all day. But he put those worries aside thinking that they deserved a relaxed day, free of phones and gruesome cases, once in a while.

Hotch then carefully lifted the sleeping boy in his arms and took him to Jack's room. Upon tucking him into bed, he went back to the living room to clean it up before calling it a day.

** ** ** **

"_You've reached SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. I can't answer right now. Please, leave your name and phone number and I'll call you as soon as possible. Thank you."_

_Beep_

"Hi, Spence. I guess you are still not back from your fishing trip. Could you please call me as soon as you get back? I just want to make sure you are OK. And tomorrow, I want to hear all the dirty secrets of your free day. Bye." JJ hung up her phone and remained sitting on her couch for a couple of minutes before going to Henry's room.

She silently entered her son's room and stood by Will, who was singing a lullaby to the boy. Will gave her a smile grabbing her hand. After their son was asleep, they left the room and went back to the kitchen, where they would enjoy a cup of coffee together.

"Still nothing?" asked Will, sitting at the kitchen table. JJ placed a mug in front of him and grabbed one for herself before sitting next to her husband.

"No." JJ took a sip and continued "I know that if they don't answer their phones soon, Garcia will kill them tomorrow." She had a small smile on her lips, but Will knew she was worried too.

"They're probably enjoying themselves. They're grown men," said Will, trying to reassure the mother of his son.

"Yeah, I know. It's probably nothing" uttered JJ before kissing Will. "Let's go to bed now, OK?"

"Sure."

The couple left their mugs in the sink and turned off the lights before going to their bedroom.

For some reason, JJ felt the following day would be an eventful day. Little did she know how right she was.

** ** ** **

"Hey! Stop!" He shouted. "Please, stop!"

SSA Derek Morgan saw the headlights of the patrol car growing bigger and bigger. He kept jumping, yelling and moving his arms above his head. If the car didn't stop, it would have to run him over. He was a desperate man and would certainly take desperate measures in order to save his friend.

The officer in the patrol car turned on the lights and started slowing down to the side of the road.

Before the car stopped completely, Morgan run to the officer's door and screamed "Call an ambulance!"

The officer got out of the car and said "Sir, calm down. Tell me what's going on."

"I'm telling you! Call an ambulance!" _"What's wrong with this man? I don't have time for his stupid questions!"_ thought Morgan, anger taking hold of his whole body.

"Look, I'm an FBI agent. I'm SSA Derek Morgan. Another agent had an accident and he needs help urgently. So now, please, call the damn ambulance!" His words were tumbling over each other.

The police officer looked at him with a hand on his gun, but something told him that crazy man, covered in sweat and dirt, was not in the middle of the road for nothing. It was clear the man was in a back-to-the-wall situation.

"Come on, man, hurry up! We have no time!" Morgan would have grabbed the radio himself to make the call, but he knew the officer was still looking at him with distrusting eyes.

Derek was breathing with difficulty due to the stress of the day. He felt he would need a week to recover from that one day. But he knew he couldn't think about resting till Reid was out of danger.

"_Hang on, kid. Help is on the way"_ said Morgan in his mind when he heard the officer requesting an ambulance to where they were. The dispatcher said the ambulance would be at the scene in 10 minutes.

10 minutes are nothing when you're relaxed at home, with a beer in your hand. 10 minutes are nothing when you're watching the game and your team is winning by a considerable amount of points. 10 minutes are nothing when you're waiting for your date to get ready before heading out. 10 minutes are nothing when your friend is not injured, standing next to you, and not laying on the floor of the forest, fighting with all his will to remain awake because he promised you he would. In fact, in their situation, those 10 minutes were the difference between life and death.

"10 minutes?! Hell, no!" Morgan forcefully grabbed the radio from the startled officer's hand and screamed to the dispatcher "Listen to me. An FBI agent is struggling for his life, so you better send the ambulance sooner!"

"Agent, you need to calm down. The ambulance will be here sooner if you stop yelling at the dispatcher" said the police officer, trying to take the radio from Morgan's hand.

Morgan took a step back and put the radio on the officer's hand. He knew he was right, but he couldn't control his angry movements.

"_The ambulance is on its way now. It should be there soon"_ said the dispatcher in a small voice. Morgan knew the woman on the other side of the line was on the verge of crying. _"Hell, if the ambulance is not here in 5 minutes, I'll personally make sure she cries her eyes out!"_ thought Morgan, taking a deep breath.

Derek Morgan kept pacing back and forth in the road, unable to think straight. What should he do? Should he go back to his friend and wait for the medics there? Or should he stay and wait for them here? The paramedics didn't know where Reid was and they could waste too much time finding the right way to his injured friend. He couldn't afford that. He didn't have any other choice but to wait for them, hoping the kid would hold on for just a moment longer. He heard someone was calling him, but he didn't have the strength to acknowledge that voice, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Agent Morgan, do you need to call someone while we wait?" asked the police officer, offering the cell phone in his hand.

"Yes, please. Which is the nearest hospital?" said Morgan, taking the phone and dialing a phone number he knew by heart.

"Memorial Hospital."

"Thanks" said Morgan, closing his eyes, resting against the patrol car and waiting for an answer on the other side of the line.

"_Hotchner__"_

"Hotch, it's Morgan. We have a problem" said the exhausted agent before explaining in a few words the whole situation.

"Fine, I'll call the team and we'll meet you guys at the hospital" said Hotch, already getting ready to leave. He knew he'd need to call someone to stay with Jack.

Before hanging up, he said "Morgan? Make sure Reid gets there alive."

"Will do, sir. Will do." Morgan snapped the phone shut and returned it to the officer.

It had been 5 minutes since calling for the ambulance, when at the end of the road, he saw it coming towards them, with lights and sirens on. _"I guess I won't have to make the dispatcher cry after all" _thought Morgan, moving closer to the medics who, as soon as they got to the scene, started gathering all the necessary equipment to treat their patient.

"Are you guys ready? We don't have too much time" said Morgan, urging them to hurry up and start walking to where Reid was.

On the way there, through puddles of water and trees, Morgan explained what happened. "We were attacked by a bear and then, he fell off the cliff. When I found him, he had a dislocated shoulder, which I fixed, some cuts and a huge bump on his head. He vomited and when I left him, he was sweating and shivering." Having to retell their whole nightmare, Morgan's mind sent him unwanted and painful images.

He remembered when he found the kid after the fall from the cliff, how motionless and lifeless he was. And he wondered how he would find him now. He started running faster, breaking apart from the medics. He just needed to get to Reid.

It was getting darker and darker, but thanks to the flashlights of the medics and the one the police officer gave Morgan, they managed to make out the way.

Morgan recognized a clearing ahead and ran with all his strength, he knew that behind the big oak in front of him, he would find his friend. The paramedics, with all their gear in their hands and arms, were almost a hundred yards behind him.

"Reid!" yelled Derek, begging in his heart to hear something back.

But he didn't.

Just like Morgan had left him, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid was sitting against a tree, head slightly falling to one side, eyes closed, face as white as the snow, body as motionless as a rock. His mouth was a bit opened. The bump on his head, with a reddish pink color to it, was bigger that the last time Derek had checked. Reid's right arm fell to his side, while his left arm was still restrained. His legs were spread in front of him.

Morgan ran to his friend's side, gulping nervously and breathing with difficulty. All his worries were plastered in his face. "Reid, come on. Talk to me." _"Please, please, answer me" _thought Morgan.

He pressed his fingers in Reid's neck and felt a timid heartbeat beneath them. He let out a sigh of relief and then, put one hand on the kid's right shoulder to shake him slightly.

"Come on, damn it! Wake up! You promised me you'd wait." Morgan was getting more desperate by the second. Tears were threatening to leave his eyes. Their nightmare seemed to be endless. He heard the paramedics were getting close to them.

"Reid, come on!" he yelled.

Without opening his eyes, Reid slowly said "You... came... back." His voice sounded tired and full of pain.

"Of course, I came back. I'd never abandon you. The medics are here and you'll be fine soon. Just hold on a little longer" said Morgan, stroking the kid's hair.

The paramedics got to where their victim was and started working, pushing Morgan aside.

Suddenly, Reid opened his eyes, looked straight into Morgan's and said "I'm sorry." Then, Spencer Reid gave in to the painless darkness.

Derek Morgan stood there unable to think, unable to speak, unable to move, unable to do anything, but remain in his state of utter shock.

"He's crashing!"

* * *

**Oops... Can I say something before receiving the flow of "I hate yous" again? I wasn't planning this, it just happene****d! I'll try to be a good person and I'll start writing the following chapter right now. Please, be gentle with poor old me...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi!! Did you miss me? I guess not. ****As I'm afraid of some dogs coming after me, here's the next chapter (It's Tuesday, so... I did it!) And it's soon enough, so it's not necessary to kill me and bring back to life, right??? **

**Thank you very much for the incredible reviews I received. I'm soooo happy that you like this story.**

**DISCLAIMER: So, I talked the other night with S. R. and he said he's not mine, so... Well, he also told me that D. M. and the rest of CM are not mine either. That sucks, uh?**

**HAVE FUN!!!**

* * *

Chapter XII

"He's crashing!"

"Start CPR."

One of the paramedics started the compressions while the other grabbed the bag and pressed it over Reid's nose and mouth forcing air into his lungs.

"Check pulse."

"Nothing."

"Again."

"_This can't be happening"_ thought Morgan in a state of dizziness and disorientation embracing his body. His best friend was dying in front of him.

The paramedics were working non-stop on the kid's languid body, with no luck at all.

Derek Morgan fell to his knees on the ground and grabbed his head with both his hands. _"When will this nightmare end? Please, just let it end."_

* * *

Hotchner drove ignoring all the traffic laws in the country to JJ's house. He knew he should be more careful taking into account that a sleeping Jack was sitting right next to him.

He got to JJ's in no time and grabbed his son before rapidly walking to the door of the house. He rang the bell and a distressed JJ answered quickly.

"Come in. There's an extra bed ready in Henry's room." JJ was whispering, but Hotch could notice tears in her voice and eyes.

"Hi, Will. Thanks for taking care of Jack" said Hotchner to the man behind JJ.

"It's OK" said Will.

Hotchner followed JJ to Henry's room and there, he tucked Jack into the extra bed beside Henry's.

Once they returned to the living room, JJ grabbed her purse and they were ready to leave.

"Bye, Will" said Hotchner with his car keys in his right hand.

"Bye, honey." JJ kissed her husband.

"Call me as soon as you learn something new" said Will hugging the mother of his son.

Soon, Hotch and JJ were out the door and in the car. While Hotch was driving, JJ asked him, not looking at him, but staring out the window on her side "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad" answered the unit chief, with his eyes on the road. They were on their way to pick up Garcia, before heading to the hospital.

They remained silent for the rest of the drive, each caught up in their own worries and fears.

* * *

"I knew it. I should have done something sooner." Garcia had been crying since JJ called her 30 minutes before to tell her that her worries came true. Her babies were in trouble. JJ hadn't been able to tell her much on the phone, but she knew something was horrible wrong. She felt it and couldn't ignore it.

"It's going to be OK, baby" said Kevin hugging his girlfriend while they were waiting for Hotch and JJ to come pick Penelope up.

"You don't know that." Garcia took a deep breath and got up from the couch where she had been waiting in the arms of Kevin. "But you're right. It's going to be OK. We have to remain positive." She was looking out the window now.

"That's right, honey. Now, come here." Kevin got up, went to the window and put his arms around her.

A new wave of tears rolled down the tech's face. "It's just... I don't know... what I'm going to do... if anything happens to them. I can't afford to lose my babies." Sobbing, Garcia let Kevin comfort her.

"Shh, it's OK. It's OK. I know." Kevin kept stroking Penelope's hair while holding her in his arms till they saw Hotch's car in the street.

Garcia wiped out her tears, grabbed her bag and kissed Kevin goodbye.

"Bye, baby. And remember, stay positive" said Kevin closing the door. He looked again out the window and saw his girlfriend disappear in Hotch's car.

Although it had been just a couple of years since he'd met the BAU team, he already knew that losing a team member, a member of this family, would devastate the group.

* * *

In another car, the rest of the BAU team, SSA David Rossi and SSA Emily Prentiss, were driving to the Memorial Hospital. They didn't say much, but by Rossi's tight grip on the wheel and the silent tears in Emily's eyes, it was clear both of them were struggling with their own fears of losing a team member, a friend.

They knew they had to prepare themselves for what they'd find when reaching their destination.

* * *

"How long has it been?"

Those words were enough to bring back SSA Derek Morgan from his state of mental paralysis and shock.

"_What is he saying? How long has it been of what?_ He remained there kneeling on the ground with his watery eyes fixed on the kid's pale face, but not actually looking. He had been in fact lost in his own mind, in his own memories, in his own regrets, until those words brought him back into reality.

And bit by bit, the actual meaning of those words dawned on him. _"How long HE has been gone..."_ Had he already lost his friend? All left of his baby brother was a body? A set of bones, flesh, organs and blood? Was that all?

"No" he whispered.

"No" he said.

"NO!" he yelled.

He couldn't bring himself to face the fact that he'd never hear his friend's voice, Spencer's characteristic ramblings, his specifics and statistics, that he'd never see his colleague's smile, his partner's awkward movements, that he'd never share a talk with his genius... ever again.

He crawled as fast as he could to the boy's side.

"Agent, I'm sorry" said one of the medics. Both paramedics kept trying to relive Reid, but they were well aware that the kid was not there anymore. And it would take a miracle to bring him back.

"No! You can't give up!" Morgan grabbed Reid's right hand. "You just can't!" screamed looking at the kid. Pent-up tears silently rolled down his face.

"Sir, we're trying, but all our efforts..." The paramedic pushing air into Reid's lungs with the bag didn't finish his sentence.

"No! Damn it, Reid! Don't you dare die on me! Please, come back, kid." Morgan was squeezing the boy's hand, till his knuckles were all white. "I need you to come back!"

"We have a pulse. Let's move!" The paramedics were getting Reid ready on the stretcher, restraining his body. They were moving fast, they had no time.

"What?" asked Morgan looking up at them. He felt lost by all the sudden movements.

"He has a pulse and he's breathing on his own. Your friend is a fighter. He's back" said one of the medics, with a smile on his face.

Morgan was in a state of shocking relief. _"He's back."_ The medic's words were playing in his head.

"OK, let's go." Reid was properly restrained on the stretcher.

"One, two, three. Up!" said the paramedics, lifting Reid's stretcher from the ground. Morgan got up quickly never letting go of the kid's hand.

The two paramedics holding the stretcher, Morgan holding Reid's hand and Reid holding on to life covered the stretch of forest land till they got to the road, where the police officer was waiting, resting in his car.

As soon as he saw them, he ran to open the ambulance back doors. They lifted Reid's body on the stretcher and put him in, followed by one of the paramedics. The other medic went around to the driver's side.

"Agent, do you want me to take you to the hospital?" asked the police officer.

Morgan looked at him and answered "No, I'm riding with him." He got on the back of the ambulance and grabbed Reid's hand once again.

The officer closed the doors and went to his car to lead the way.

"Are we ready?" asked the paramedic in the front.

"All clear. Let's go" answered the one in the back hooking up an IV line to Reid's right arm.

"Hold on, kid. I won't let you go." Morgan whispered to Spencer's ear. "This will be over soon."

As weird as it may sound, his eyes were locked on Reid's closed eyelids, but in his head, a song in the voice of Rufus Wainwright was playing. It said something like this:

_Now I've heard there was a secret chord  
That David played, and it pleased the Lord  
But you don't really care for music, do you?  
It goes like this  
The fourth, the fifth  
The minor fall, the major lift  
The baffled king composing Hallelujah  
Hallelujah  
Hallelujah  
Hallelujah  
Hallelujah_

Your faith was strong but you needed proof  
You saw her bathing on the roof  
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you  
She tied you  
To a kitchen chair  
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair  
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before  
I know this room, I've walked this floor  
I used to live alone before I knew you.  
I've seen your flag on the marble arch  
Love is not a victory march  
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know  
What's really going on below  
But now you never show it to me, do you?  
And remember when I moved in you  
The holy dove was moving too  
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain  
I don't even know the name  
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?  
There's a blaze of light  
In every word  
It doesn't matter which you heard  
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much  
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch  
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you  
And even though  
It all went wrong  
I'll stand before the Lord of Song  
_With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah_

* * *

**So, was the wait worth it?**** I was just finishing this when I heard this song and I love it, so I thought it was the perfect song for the ambulance ride.**

**Keep reviewing! And of course, I'll keep writing... See you soon!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! How are you? Sorry, I couldn't update sooner. ****I've been working a lot! But I did have time to write a short thingy called "The day Derek Morgan had a heart attack". But, well, now we continue with this story.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews!**

**DISCLAIMER: The same as always.**

**Have fun!**

* * *

Chapter XIII

"Spencer Reid, 27. Fall from a cliff."

"Unconscious. Possible head trauma."

"Gave him CPR at the scene."

"Dislocated shoulder."

"SATS 92. BP 90 over 50."

"Tachy to 105."

"Hematoma could be expanding."

SSA Derek Morgan caught only a few phrases of the fast-spoken sentences the paramedics were using to describe SSA Dr. Spencer Reid's condition. The ambulance ride to the hospital had felt like lasting longer than Morgan could stand. He hadn't been able to do anything, but softly stroke the kid's cold and seemingly lifeless hand, whispering reassuring and comforting words like "It's going to be OK", "Hold on", "I'm with you", not knowing if Spencer had been listening to him wherever he was in his unconscious state.

Now, at the hospital emergency entrance, he saw several faces laced with worry, on doctors and nurses, who hurriedly assessed the situation in their hands.

"Head CT, c-spine, trauma labs."

"I want the BP up before CT."

"I'm here, kid." Morgan heard himself whispering in the middle of the chaos whirling around them.

"Let's get him to Trauma 2."

There hadn't been too much change since leaving the forest. The kid was breathing, he had a pulse, but that was it. That was the only proof that he was still alive.

He hadn't opened his eyes, blinked, flinched or moved any muscle in his body to assure his friend that he was still among the living ones. The last words had been "I'm sorry" and they were said to Morgan. Although the older agent felt he should be the one saying them. He was sorry. He was sorry for pushing his friend to go fishing, for the hideous words he said and hurt his friend, for having been unable to protect him from the bear, for having been so tired that he couldn't carry him, for abandoning him in the forest, for not getting back to him on time. He was so sorry that guilt was killing him inside.

"Sir, you have to let go now" said one aging nurse, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No."

"Sir, please, we need to take him to the OR." She insisted.

"I'm not leaving him."

"You can wait for him in the waiting room. I'll take you there."

"Sir, I'm doctor Carter. I'll be treating your friend. I'll go get you as soon as we are done" said a tall muscular man dressed in ER scrubs.

"No! I won't abandon him." _"Again."_

"Sir"

"No more 'Sir'. I'm SSA Derek Morgan with the FBI!"

"Sorry, agent." Morgan heard the sarcasm in the doctor's voice and felt like killing him with his bare hands. "If you don't leave now, I'll call security."

Morgan looked straight into the doctor's eyes showing him that he was not afraid of some hospital security guards. "I'm not leaving my friend" he said at just a few inches from the doctor's face.

"Fine, suit yourself. Security!"

* * *

Hotch, Garcia and JJ entered the emergency room of the Memorial Hospital and saw Rossi and Prentiss waiting for them by the door.

"Have you heard anything yet?" asked Hotch almost out of breath. Not because he was tired, but just because he was afraid of what was coming their way.

"No, we've just arrived" said Rossi, looking concerned.

"We were waiting for you guys" added Prentiss, letting her hand touch Garcia's shoulder. The tech had clearly been crying and she needed her support.

"OK, let's go find out" said Hotch, knowing that as the unit chief, he had to remain calm for the sake of his team. No matter what they'd find, he was the man in charge and the one that would have to pull them together.

Hotch, followed by the rest of the team, hurried to the emergency ward admittance desk where busy nurses were working among papers, computers and phones.

"Excuse me, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner. Two FBI agents were brought here. Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid" he said rapidly, one word after another.

"Sorry, agent, I don't have anybody with those names" said a nurse, not even paying attention to the now angry man in front of her.

"Could you at least check if two men were admitted in the last hour or two?" asked Rossi, getting nearer the desk to try to intimidate the woman with his badge out.

Then, they heard shouts, nurses were running and two security guards appeared to be in a hurry to enter one of the rooms.

"Excuse me, are you from the FBI?" asked one nurse in pink scrubs who came rushing out to them.

"Yes, I'm unit chief SSA Aaron Hotchner. Two of my agents –"

"There's no time" said the nurse, interrupting Hotch. "We need your help. Come with me, please."

She took Aaron by the arm and practically pushed him into one room, explaining the situation.

And there he saw a heart-breaking, hair-rising image that sent shivers down his spine. In that room, swarming with doctors and nurses, stood a distressed Derek Morgan, in shredded and dirty clothes. His eyes were looking down to the gurney in front of him. He held the hand of Dr. Spencer Reid as if that was the only thing that kept the boy alive. The young unconscious man was completely oblivious to the sea of faces around him. He looked as if he was sleeping, except for the fact that the nightmare, this time, was outside his head, was real and they were all living it.

Hotch got close to Morgan and placed a hand on his arm. "Morgan?"

Derek looked up from the kid, shocked to hear his superior's voice.

"You have to let him go. They need to take him to the OR" said Hotch in a calm voice that didn't match his inner feelings of concern.

"I won't leave him again" whispered Morgan.

"_What the hell happened in that forest?!"_ thought Hotch, although he knew it was not the time or place to ask.

"Agent, your friend needs to go to the OR right now. He's bleeding internally and we have to release the pressure in his brain" explained kindly the nurse in pink scrubs.

"Hotch, don't make me leave him." There were silent tears in Morgan's voice, all the anger he had felt before was gone.

"You can see him afterwards, but now they need to take him. That will save his life" added the unit chief. "Come on."

As if it was the hardest thing to do, Morgan let go of Reid's hand, not before whispering to his ear "Don't go anywhere, kid. I'll be waiting. Hold on." Then, he stepped aside from the boy and let Hotch lead him out of the room and towards the waiting room where the rest of the BAU team was waiting for them.

Doctor Carter and the nurses got Reid ready and took him to the OR.

There was nothing the team could do now, but wait. Penelope Garcia took a seat beside Derek Morgan, who looked like the adrenaline had drained from his body, leaving him shaky and unstable. The tech put an arm around his shoulders and said "Are you OK, muffin? Why don't you let a doctor check you out? We'll be here waiting."

"No, I won't go anywhere."

Hotch looked at him and his clothes and said "You should change your clothes at least. I have some clothes in the car. I can get them for you, if you want."

"Oh, OK" answered Derek. The last things in his mind were his clothes or how he looked. But after a hell of a day as the one he was having, he knew a change of clothes would suit him.

Hotchner went to his car and came back in a few minutes.

"Here. Go get change. We'll be here."

Morgan went rapidly to the bathroom, changed his clothes and came back without wasting time. He wanted to be in the waiting room to see the doctor as soon as the surgery was over, although he knew it'd take time.

Upon coming back to the waiting room and refusing to eat anything, he sat down, placed his elbows on his knees and let his head hang down on his hands.

It would be a long wait. The air in the waiting room was filled with unspoken regrets, sorrows, concerns and unshed tears.

* * *

**That's all for now, folks. I'll update as soon as possible!**** Thanks for reading...**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm back! And so is this story. ****I want to thank you all for reviewing and reading my first story. I'm glad you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.**

**DISCLAIMER: Criminal Minds no es mío, ¡lo juro! ****(Just a bit of Spanish)**

**ENJOY! **

* * *

**Chapter XIV**

The atmosphere in the ER waiting room was eerily silent at the high hours of the night. A few nurses and doctors walked through doors not paying attention to the expectant looks thrown at them by the patients' family members and friends. Among those in that gloomy room were six members of the BAU team.

"_How long has it been?"_ asked Morgan in his mind. He was sitting on a bench with Garcia's head resting on his shoulder. He looked to his left and, on another bench, Emily Prentiss had her eyes closed, but she was not sleeping. None of them were. They were too anxious to drift off to slumberland. Derek continued to look around the room and saw Rossi sitting in a corner with a magazine in his hands. Morgan knew he was just turning the pages without paying attention to the pictures and the tittle-tattle in there. By a window, with her back to the waiting room, JJ stood talking on the phone with Will. And then pacing back and forth, with his arms crossed over his chest, was unit chief SSA Aaron Hotchner.

They all looked tired and worried, overwrought about the fact that their friend was once again in danger. Surgeries are not a walk in the park, and particularly not the one Reid was having.

Morgan kept staring at the door, waiting to see Dr. Carter, going through all his fears about that particular moment. He didn't want to lose hope. He wanted to believe the kid was strong enough to make it through one more time. He was convinced Reid wouldn't give up.

After a few more minutes, he saw the face he'd been waiting for. Dr. Carter pushed the doors opened and calmly asked: "Spencer Reid?" He was looking to everybody in the room, except Derek, something that really pissed him off, but also scared him to death.

Hotch cleared his throat and said: "We're here for Dr. Reid." Penelope's head lifted from Morgan's shoulder and she grabbed one of his hands. JJ came to where the group was and Rossi stood by her.

For a moment, everything was strangely quiet, like the calm before the storm. Derek wanted to stand up, but he didn't trust his legs, so he remained there, on the bench, anxiously waiting for the doctor's words.

Doctor Carter breathed deeply and asked them to follow him to another room.

"_This can't be good"_ thought Morgan.

When they were all in the small, white-walled room, Dr. Carter closed the door and rested his back on it.

"Dr. Reid had an internal bleeding in his brain caused by the cliff fall. When we opened him, his brain had already suffered too much pressure from the massive pool of blood. We tried to stop the bleeding and stabilize him, while the ortho surgeon fixed his shoulder." The doctor paused, licked his lips and regretfully added: "Unfortunately, we couldn't stop the bleeding in time. I'm sorry, we did everything we could." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Your friend is dead."

Pain. Fear. Sadness. Disbelief. Denial. Anger.

That's all Derek Morgan felt in a split of a second after hearing Reid's surgical outcome. His friend was gone. He looked around to see if he had misunderstood, but Emily's teary eyes, Garcia's sobs, JJ's laments, Rossi's sorrowful look and Hotch's pain-filled silence told him he hadn't.

Then all the pent-up powerlessness caught up with Morgan and manifested itself in a fit of anger.

"What?! No! You son of a bitch! You killed him!" screamed Derek, louder than appropriate for the tiny room they were in.

"You fucking bastard!" He got close to the doctor, who was completely taken aback by the agent's reaction, and crossed his arm on the doctor's neck wanting to choke him, while he kept yelling accusatory phrases to the now scared to death doctor. "You did this! You sick bastard!"

Hotch and Rossi took each of Morgan's arms to get him away from Dr. Carter.

"Morgan!"

"Calm down!" exclaimed Hotch.

"Hotch, he killed Reid! This son of a bitch!" Again, Morgan attempted to throw his body against the doctor.

"Morgan, I need you to calm down or I will take you out of the room" said Hotch in a hard voice.

Derek heard cries, sobs, laments, sighs, weeps and comforting words in that room, but nothing could make him believe that he had lost his kid. He felt hot tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat was choking him. Then, he gave up the fight and raised his arms to let Hotch and Rossi know that he wouldn't attempt anything else against Reid's doctor.

"I can't believe this." Morgan said falling down on a couch by the wall.

"I know, honey. I'm so sorry, sweetheart" answered Garcia, kindly touching his left hand.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this. Not the kid. Never the kid." whispered Morgan with despair.

After a few minutes, Dr. Carter said: "You can stay here as long as you want. I'll be around if you have any questions." Then he turned around to leave the room and added: "Again, I'm really sorry for your lose."

Everybody in the room nodded and before the doctor could leave, Morgan slowly asked: "Can I see him?"

"Sure. I can take you where his bod... where your friend is" answered the doctor from the door.

"I can go with you, honey, if you want" offered Garcia, standing next to Morgan.

Morgan shook his head no. "No, it's OK. I need a minute alone with him." _"With the body of who used to be my best friend, my baby brother" _thought Morgan.

Doctor Carter led Morgan through a chillingly quiet corridor with white walls and up a set of stairs. Derek paled as he saw the doctor stopping in front of a door.

"He's in here. Take as much time as you need."

Morgan thanked him and, breathing deeply, he turned the doorknob to get into the room.

The room was hauntingly empty, except for a bed in the middle of it. He stood by the door, not daring to take one step forward. He knew that when doing it, he'd see the dead body of his fellow agent and his death would be real. Dr. Spencer Reid, his best friend, would be gone forever.

He swallowed the tears rising in his throat and felt them blurring across his eyes. He took one more deep breath to regain courage and took a step forward.

Then another.

And then...

"_Derek. Derek. Wake up."_

Someone was shaking his shoulders. _"There's something wrong here"_ thought Morgan, completely confused by the situation.

"Chocolate muffin, wake up. The doctor is coming."

That was enough to bring him back to reality. It had all been a bad dream. A hell of a nightmare. It had been the kind of nightmare that normally freak all the living hell out of you and don't disappear when you wake up.

Bewildered, Morgan opened his eyes fast, leaving them wide open. He was breathing with difficulty and sweating profusely.

"Are you OK, Derek?" asked a concerned JJ.

Morgan nodded and explained: "Just a dream."

They could all relate to what Morgan was feeling. All the members of the team had been afraid to close their eyes to wake up to a nightmare where their friend was gone.

Just like in Derek's dream, Dr. Carter asked them to follow him to another room. This time the place was far from quiet. Nurses were chitchatting at their desk. Others were going through the patients medical histories with doctors.

They entered the room, following Dr. Carter, who said: "Dr. Reid had an internal bleeding in his brain. And the ortho surgeon fixed his shoulder while we worked to stop the bleeding." Morgan felt the doctor's words were oddly similar to the ones in his dream.

Then Dr. Carter added: "Fortunately, we were able to stop it in time. He made it. He's now in the recovery ICU. He's still sedated, but I'm confident he'll be awake in a few hours."

A wave of relief bathed everybody in the room.

"Did you hear that? He's fine!" said Garcia with a smile in her lips. "My junior G-man is alive!" She hugged Morgan, who still felt shocked by the outcome.

"Can we see him?" asked Hotch.

"As I said, he's still sedated, but I guess you can see him for a few minutes" answered the doctor. "Although, I'll allow only one of you to go. Dr. Reid needs to rest now."

Everybody looked at Morgan, who said: "I'll go."

Dr. Carter opened the door to leave, followed by Derek.

"Tell him we're all here waiting for him to go home with us" said Garcia.

"I will" said Morgan, almost smiling.

Then he was gone, leaving the rest of the BAU team to enjoy the fact that their friend, the baby of the group, was alive, having escaped once again a brush with death.

* * *

**So Reid's death was just a nightmare... Don't tell me you ****thought I'd kill something as cute as him! I'm actually afraid of what you guys would do to me if I did... See you in a few days with a new chapter of this story. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey there! How are my favorite readers?? Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. It's a pleasure writing when ****I know there are so many people reading this little story.**

**Let me tell you that the end is near... So be prepared.**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I know, it sucks when you don't own what you want, just like CM or that cute little thing called S. R.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter XV

As much as Derek Morgan wanted to forget about his nightmare, everything around reminded him of it. He had been so scared and so broken when he heard in his dream that his colleague, Dr. Spencer Reid, was dead. He couldn't imagine, and didn't dare to imagine, what he would have done if it had turned out to be true. He'd most definitely blame himself for eternity. He wouldn't have been able to return to work with the team, as he would have lost all confidence, and he would have remembered the kid every step of the way, every day for the rest of his life.

Luckily, it all had been a dream. A nightmare. But, as much as he wanted to believe, it wasn't over. The kid was still in hospital, recovering from a head surgery.

"You should check your wounds, you know?"

Morgan heard Dr. Carter say. He was following the doctor to Reid's ICU room.

"It's nothing, I'm fine" answered Derek.

"Suit yourself. Anyways, your friend will be here for a while, so you'll have enough time to let a doctor make that call" said Dr. Carter.

They walked through a white-walled corridor similar to the one in Morgan's dream. Nurses and doctors walked through the same corridor, without paying attention to the two men.

Then, Morgan saw the ICU ward and Dr. Carter opened the doors to let him in. He stopped on the third door and said: "Your friend is in here" opening the door for Morgan.

The room had a window on the far end and there was a crash cart by the door. The sound and beeping of different machines filled the room. And in the middle of it, there was a bed. And on top of that bed lay the frail and small frame of his friend, Spencer, with a blanket pulled up to his chest. There were several IV lines that went from his right arm to bags hanging from a pole by the side of the bed. Then Morgan's eyes went from his arm to the boy's dead-like pale face.

"You can stay for a few minutes, but he needs to rest. I'll be around if you need me." Dr. Carter's voice startled Morgan. He had forgotten the doctor was still standing in the door behind him. He nodded, without taking his eyes out of the kid. Then, he heard as the doctor left the room and closed the door.

Morgan approached the bed on the right side. Reid's left arm was restrained in a plaster cast after the surgery on his shoulder.

Reid's eyes looked sunken in. The kid had a breathing tube up his nose. His head was bandaged with surgical gauze, his long brown hair gone on the left side where they had made the incision. Morgan knew that Garcia would offer to shave the rest of Reid's head to let his hair grow evenly. Of course, she would have to wait till the kid was released.

"_Damn it, he looks so __young"_ thought Morgan.

The older FBI agent sat down on a chair by Reid's bed and grabbed the boy's skinny and rather cold hand.

"Hey, kid. I'm glad to see you alive." Morgan felt kind of silly talking to someone unconscious who surely couldn't hear him, but he wanted to talk to his friend so badly.

"The team is outside and Garcia says they'll be waiting to you to go home with us" added Morgan with a smile. The first real smile since the beginning of the series of terrifying situation they had been through.

Morgan felt silent for a few moments. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and said: "You scared the hell out of me, you know? I thought I... we had lost you... but I'm glad you're here with us to see another day." He sighed and in the silence of the room he slowly started feeling the exhaustion of the last hours crashing down on his shoulders.

He kept his hand on Reid's and let his head fall on the other. His eyes started to weigh more and more. The beeping of the machines and Reid's quiet, even breaths were a soothing lullaby to his ears. He was about to fall asleep when he felt it.

He opened his eyes alarmed, sat up straight in his chair and looked at Reid's hand in his. The kid was moving his fingers. Spencer was slightly squeezing his hand. Morgan felt blessed by that movement. Then, he looked up to his friend's face and saw Reid looking at him through half-shut eyes with a twitch on his lips, that Morgan interpreted like an intended smile.

"Hey, Pretty boy. Welcome back."

Reid opened his mouth to answer, but only managed to cough.

"Hey, take it easy."

Then, he tried again and said in a raspy voice: "W...wat...water."

Morgan dipped some gauze in water and gently brushed it on Reid's lips. The young man licked his lips.

"Tha... thanks."

They remained in silence for a moment, till Reid started assessing his body. He took his right hand to his left shoulder. It was restrained. _"Oh, yeah, dislocated shoulder." _He remembered. Then he continued to his head, which felt like it was going to explode. He stopped for a minute with panic in his now wide opened eyes.

"W...wh... what..." he tried to ask.

"You were bleeding internally. And don't worry; they stopped the bleeding in time. You're going to be fine, kid" explained Morgan. He saw the fear in Reid's eyes. And added to calm his friend: "And your hair will grow again." He avoided the fact that he would have to shave the other half of his head not to look weird.

Reid didn't react to Morgan's words; he remained staring impassively at the ceiling. He was already trying to assess the damage to his brain. _"What if I damaged part of it? What if I don't remember some parts of my life or important facts or past cases? Oh my God! I've always depended on my brain, what if it stops working properly? There have been cases of prolonged amnesia, disrupted brain function, cognitive neurological dysfunction and more after this kind of surgeries. I'm nothing more than a walking encyclopedia thanks to my brain, without it I'm just... nothing."_

Morgan saw the terror in Reid's eyes. Losing his brain would be like losing his life.

"Hey... hey, stop thinking. You're fine; you're going to get out of this one. That big brain of yours will keep working 500 miles per hour faster than the average person's brain" said Morgan to try to reassure his friend that everything would go back to normal soon.

Slowly, Reid lowered his hand and let it rest on the bed. He was feeling tired. His eyes were growing heavier. Morgan saw that Reid was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"You can sleep now. You need to rest" said the older FBI agent getting to his feet.

"No" said Reid's voice, cracking, his hand grasping Derek's arm.

"It's OK, kid. I'll be outside with the rest. You need to rest" said Morgan reassuring Reid. It was hard to leave the boy, but now he was safe.

Reid let go of Morgan's arm and the older agent moved to the door.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah?" asked Derek turning around to face Reid.

Reid lowered his eyes and said in a low voice: "I'm also glad to be here to see another day." Then he looked up to Morgan.

Derek realized the kid had been listening to him. He smiled at his friend.

"Now, go to sleep. I'll see you later" said Morgan opening the door, but not leaving.

"OK, I'll be here." Spencer already had his eyes closed.

Morgan waited a few moments until he was sure the kid was asleep before leaving the room and closing its door.

Things were going to go back to normal, the kid was going to be fine and the nightmare would be gone forever and soon forgotten.

Morgan returned to the waiting room to find the rest of the team anxiously expecting him.

"So, how is he?" asked Garcia.

"Is he asleep?" JJ's turn.

Emily was waiting to ask something herself, but Derek lifted his hand to stop all questions.

"He's fine. He was awake and we talked. He looks and sounds tired, but he's going to be fine. He was asleep when I left the room and I guess he'll be till the morning" explained Morgan.

"OK, then, we should go get rest" said the authoritative voice of Hotch, "Morgan, you too." That was not a request, but an order, one that Morgan was about to ignore, but knew better. He could go home, feed Clooney, grab a shower and come back.

"Come on, Hotstuff, you can ride with me to your house" offered Garcia. "I promise I won't take advantage of you." She added smiling.

Morgan put an arm on her shoulders. "That's too bad. I'd have liked that" he whispered to her ear. Then they all started walking to the parking lot. They'd see their baby friend in a couple of hours.

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**So, we have one or two more chapters and that's it! Or... maybe... Who knows? We'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**The last chapter has arrived!**

**¡Hola! So, I'm really sorry it took me forever to update. It's been like crazy summer time here in Argentina****.**

**Thanks again for all the reviews for this story, all the alerts, all t****he favorites, everything! Thank you all!! I'm really happy with this, my first story, and I'm glad you like it. **

**I've already posted "Going down", another story, so check it out when you have time. I'll continue with that one, as soon as I finish the epilogue for this one.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own CM, of course not!!**

**With no further ado, here's the last chapter of "The decision."**

**ENJOY!**

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Chapter XVI

"Hey, buddy. Did you miss me?" asked Morgan closing the door of his house. In front of him, his dog was clearly happy to see his master.

Morgan set the keys on the coffle table and buried himself on the couch. He was exhausted. The emotions of the day were taking their toll on his weary body, leaving him numb and in uncomfortable pain. He closed his eyes and sighed, letting out all the pent-up worries that grew heavier inside him. The day had been full of extreme situations that he was more than willing to forget. As tired as he felt, he didn't want to sleep. He wanted to go back to the hospital to be in Reid's room when he woke up.

Then, ignoring his bed's calling and his pain filled limbs, he got up and went to the bathroom. He spent 30 minutes under the shower before turning the water off. After eating a sandwich, getting into a pair of jeans and a shirt and feeding Clooney, he was ready to go back to the hospital. His own almost unbearable desire to sleep could wait a little longer. His almost unbearable desire to see his friend couldn't.

He got into his car and drove straight to the Memorial Hospital. As visiting hours started in 2 hours, Morgan walked through the hospital's corridor to the ICU ward without drawing attention to himself, to avoid having to show his badge to obtain his final goal. Whether they wanted him or not, he'd get to Reid's room.

When he got to the 3rd door in the ICU ward, something caught his attention. The door was half way opened.

"_Maybe a nurse or an orderly left it like this"_ thought Morgan, opening the door and stepping in.

But he was mistaken.

There was no nurse, no orderly, no "Reid" in that room. Apart from the machines and a crash cart by a bed with crumpled sheets, the room was empty.

"What the hell?!" exclaimed Morgan before he started rushing towards the nearest nurse station. His heart was running at 200 miles per hour alongside his fears. _"What happened? He was fine. I left him and he was sleeping! I shouldn't have left him. Damn it!"_

"Sir? Slow down. You can't run like this here!" said loudly a nurse.

"My friend!" He paused to catch up his breath before continuing. "Dr. Spencer Reid. Where is he? He was in room 3 in the ICU. What happened?"

"Calm down. We moved him out of the ICU after checking his vitals. Come on, I'll take you to his room, even though visiting hours start later." said the nurse to Morgan's relief. The FBI agent followed the kind nurse to Reid's room.

"He's still asleep and he needs to rest, so don't disturb him, please."

"Of course, don't worry" said Morgan looking at his sleeping friend. "Thank you."

Derek entered the room and grabbed a chair to pull it to Reid's bedside. There, after spending some moments contemplating his serene and not-so-pale-looking-like-before friend, he remained in silence waiting for the kid to wake up.

* * *

Several hours later, Reid started to slightly move informing Morgan that he was waking up.

Spencer slowly opened his eyes absorbing the lights of his new room. His head hurt, but not as much as it had before. He looked to the side of the bed and saw Morgan with his eyes fixed on him.

"Hi" said Reid struggling with his own voice.

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" asked Morgan, giving some water to his friend. The young FBI agent hadn't asked for it, but he knew it would be more than welcome.

Reid took several sips before answering. "Better, I guess. Thanks."

Morgan left the cup on the bedside table and sit back. Just then they heard a knock on the door. When it opened, they saw the rest of the BAU team waiting to come in.

"Hi, Spence. How are you feeling?" asked JJ, moving Morgan to one side to be able to kiss the injured agent on the cheek.

"I'm fine, thanks" said Reid. He really hated the attention he received every time he ended up in hospital. He should be used to it by now, but after a life of handling things alone, this was something hard to get used to, although he really appreciated it.

"Reid, I talked to Dr. Carter." That was Hotch. "He said everything looks good. If everything continues like this, you'll be able to go home in a week."

"That's good" added Rossi.

Emily was about to say something, when a smile in Garcia's eyes caught her attention, so she let the technical analyst get closer to Reid's bed.

"I brought you something, baby." Reid looked at her not sure of what to expect.

With a huge smile and bubbly as always, she stretched her arm and in her hand, she had a puffy, little stuffed giraffe toy.

"Mmmm... Thank you?" said Reid accepting the gift.

"Do you like it? I was going to bring you a teddy bear, but I don't know what you think of bears now."

Morgan pinched Garcia's side as he laughed a soft laugh. Emily chuckled, "Well, that's appropriate for the situation, don't you think?"

Everyone was relaxed in that hospital room. Once again the worst had been too close to the team, but they had managed to face it, as a team and as a family.

After about an hour of chitchatting and jokes, mostly at Reid's expenses, the team started to say their goodbyes.

"Well, Sweetcheeks, I'll come back tomorrow and we'll keep talking about your hair. You just have to let mamma work her magic and you'll look amazing" said Garcia, kissing the boy on his cheek, while he complained about his soon to be completely bald look.

"Reid, don't waste your breath, she'll get what she wants in the end" added Emily.

"Don't worry, Spence, I won't let her cut your ears." JJ grabbed his hand in support. "Well, at least I'll try," she said smiling.

"Don't I have a say in this? It's my head after all!" exclaimed Reid with a hint of anger in his voice.

"No!" screamed the three female members of the team.

"It's pointless, kid. Just do what they want. You'll never win" said Rossi, heading to the door. "See you tomorrow."

Hotchner was the last one in the room, apart from Morgan and Reid.

"You need to rest." And looking at Morgan, he added, "Both of you."

Reid nodded, "Thanks for coming."

"See you tomorrow." And with that Hotch left the room. Morgan sat down again by Reid's bed.

"What are you doing?" asked the hospital bedridden man.

"What does it look like?" Morgan asked back.

"Morgan, you need to rest too. Go home. You haven't slept in a while and you need it" explained Reid, fighting against a yawn.

"I'm not going anywhere."

With a move of his hand to show his annoyance, Reid closed his eyes for a moment.

"What?" asked Morgan, not understanding the kid's movement.

"It's not fair" explained Reid. "You always tell me 'Don't do that to yourself'. Every time I blame myself for something beyond my control and now, you're doing it. You blame yourself for what happened. I can see that."

"Reid, it is my fault" said Morgan in a quiet voice, filled with regret.

"It is not." Reid looked at him. "You didn't tell the bear to attack us."

"If I hadn't been such an asshole, you wouldn't have been forced to attract the attention of the animal to save me" explained Morgan, reliving in his head the moment when he saw his friend going over the cliff.

"Morgan, you saved my life. This is not your fault. I'm a magnet for disastrous situations."

"Well, you saved mine" uttered Derek.

"Then, we're even. I can live with that, can you?" said the doctor, trying to convince his friend.

With a small smile, Morgan chuckled, "I think I can."

"Good."

They enjoyed a few seconds in silence before Reid insisted, "Go home, Morgan."

The older FBI agent really wanted to sleep, but he felt bad having to leave his friend there alone.

"But..."

"No, Morgan. I'll be fine, just go home." Reid was determined to convince his partner and there was nothing that could change his mind.

"OK, but call me if you need anything, alright?" said Morgan, giving up the fight against his stubborn boy.

Reid nodded as Morgan got up and headed to the door.

"Morgan?"

"Yeah?" Derek looked at his younger friend questioningly.

"Next time we have a free day, I'll choose what we are going to do" said Spencer smiling.

Morgan laughed. "Okay, Reid. We'll do whatever you want." He turned towards the door and added, "See you later, kid. Sleep now."

"You too" exhaled Reid, quietly abandoning himself to the pleasure of sleeping. He was exhausted, but he knew he had managed to survive yet another close call. And he was certain that should he be in danger again, his friends, his family, all the members of the BAU team would be there by his side to help him survive.

~THE END~

~FIN~

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**Another story bites the dust. Thanks again to all of you who read this story. It's been a pleasure. Soon, I'll add the epilogue, which is already half written, and then I'll continue with "Going down".**

**Thanks for reading and see you next time...**


	17. Epilogue

**So the epilogue is here!**** I didn't make you wait too much, did I? Thanks again for all the 164 reviews (so far) and the many alerts and favorites for this story. You guys rock!!**

**DISCLAIMER: Only my words and my ideas are mine. The rest is not.**

**ENJOY! This is the last bit of the story.**

* * *

Epilogue

It had been five days since SSA Dr. Spencer Reid had been discharged from hospital. The days went by slowly for him, now that he was at home without anything to do, but reread the books he already knew by heart. Fortunately, he received at least six calls a day from all his team members, Morgan and Garcia usually called him more than once a day.

As he sat down on his couch, with the TV on for background noise, Spencer remembered that on the second day at home, he was taking a bath, carefully taking all the precautions not to get his arm's cast or his bandaged head wet, when the phone rang. He had forgotten to take the phone to the bathroom, so he missed Morgan's call. When he slowly got out, dressed in sweatpants and a shirt, he went to the living room to find someone banging forcefully on the other side of the door and calling his name. Upon opening the apartment's door, he found a distraught and angry looking Morgan.

"Morgan, what are you doing here?" asked Reid disconcerted.

"What am I doing here?! Why the hell didn't you answer the phone, Reid? Are you OK? You almost give me a heart attack, man!" exclaimed a hot-headed Derek.

Since then, Reid took his phone everywhere he went, even if he went to the bathroom.

Now, it was Friday and he was waiting for Derek, who ten minutes earlier had called to say he had a surprise for Spencer. He didn't know what it was and that made him feel a bit nervous. He really didn't like surprises.

Some minutes later, Spencer heard a knock on his door. He laboriously got up from the couch and moved to open it.

"Hey, kid. Look what I brought you." Morgan greeted him, stepping into the apartment. Behind him, Garcia, JJ and Prentiss were all smiling at the younger FBI agent. They all had a bag in their hands.

"Oh, hi, guys. I didn't know you were coming" said Reid, moving aside to let them enter his home.

"It's OK, baby cakes. We wanted to surprise you" answered Garcia, resting an arm on the kid's shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" asked Prentiss.

"I'm fine, just a little bit bored" said Spencer, going into the kitchen to prepare some tea.

"Spence, let me do this. You just sit on that chair and enjoy yourself" offered JJ, with a hidden you-are-not-going-to-like-this expression on her face.

"Enjoy? What are you planning on doing to me?" asked Reid, petrified.

"Oh, baby, we are going to "fix" you" said Penelope smiling.

"Morgan?" Reid whispered, like if he was asking Derek to rescue him from whatever the three women had planned for him.

"Oh, no" answered Morgan, raising his hands. "You're on your own in this one." Then, he took a chips bag in his hand and sitting on a chair by the kitchen table, he added, "I'm just here to enjoy the show."

"Show? What show?" Concern was creeping up Reid's features.

Prentis grabbed Spencer's shoulders so that he'd be with his back against the chair's back-rest. "Just relax." And she started to take the bandage off Reid's head, unveiling gauze over the incision and the hair that covered half of his head.

Garcia opened her bag and to Reid's anguish and annoyance, she took a pair of scissors and a hair shaving machine.

"Oh, God." Reid closed his eyes, just wanting to escape from there, transport himself to another galaxy if possible. He heard Morgan and JJ laughing at him. And then, he heard the sound the scissors made when Garcia cut the first lock of his brown hair. He felt his hair falling down his shoulders and continuing to his hand. He dared to open his eyes to find a perfect lock of wavy hair on his hand. He looked at it in disbelief.

"Don't freak out, kid. It'll grow back" smiled Derek. "Just think about something else and relax."

Slowly breathing in and out, Reid asked for his home phone.

"Guys, do you know the landline phone number to check my mobile phone messages?" Derek and Reid hadn't had the time to get new phones after losing theirs in the forest.

"Sure, it's 555-8596" answered JJ.

Spencer concentrated on following the instructions of the operator in order to check his messages. He hadn't heard them since the morning of their unfortunate adventure. At least, it was something that would help take his mind off what was going on with his hair and the three women taking advantage of him.

Morgan was amused in his chair while enjoying the image of his friends in front of him. Reid looked terrified, while the girls seemed to be having the time of their lives. Then, he noticed the confused expression on the kid's face with the phone to his ear.

"Reid, is everything alright?" Morgan asked worriedly.

"Mmmm... I think you should check your messages" whispered Spencer handing him the phone. JJ chuckled, already knowing what Morgan would find out soon.

Not understanding the meaning of this, Morgan grabbed the phone and punched the number to check his messages.

As he started hearing the loud (and chilling, for Reid) sound of the shaving machine, his eyes locked on the kid's eyes. The machine on Garcia's hand was getting nearer and nearer the boy's head. Spencer's eyes showed his inner fears; on the other hand, Morgan's eyes displayed utter confusion and a stroke of anger.

Just when Reid whimpered at the feeling of the machine on his head, Morgan exclaimed out loud: "What the hell?!"

"_You have 52 new messages."_

"Garcia!!" Reid and Morgan yelled at the same time... but for different reasons, of course.

**Y colorín colorado, el cuento se ha acabado.**

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**For those who asked how many messages Penelope Garcia left them, th****ere you have the answer.**

**As I said before, it's been a pleasure writing for you, guys. See you next time! And thanks again for reading.**

**Now, "The decision" is complete.**


End file.
